


Guardian Angel

by castomydean



Series: Angel!Avi Verse [1]
Category: Pentatonix, Supernatural
Genre: Avi is an angel, Crossover, Guardian Angel AU, M/M, Mild Angst, Mitch doesn’t have a moustache in this because this universe is better than the real one, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Seriously Mitch pls shave
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-08
Updated: 2018-04-15
Packaged: 2019-01-31 01:24:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 22,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12665409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/castomydean/pseuds/castomydean
Summary: Every human, at birth, is assigned a guardian angel. The angel’s job is to watch over that human; to make sure they fill out their purpose.This story tells of three angels who were perhaps imperfect in their duties, but perfect for the humans they were assigned to be the guardian of.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> So I had the idea for this fic months ago and in that time Avi left PTX and what happened at the end of season 12 happened which basically ruins the premise for this but guess who’s writing it anyway.
> 
> Do you love me yet, Lucy?!

Every human, at birth, is assigned a guardian angel.

Or rather, every angel is assigned a human to be the guardian of. Some angels have multiple humans to watch over, generally families if that is the case.

The angel’s job is to watch over that human. Every human has a purpose, from the second they are conceived, that God gave to them. It was the duty of the angel to see that the human lives out their purpose, to send them occasional brainwave ideas when they were stuck on what to do in their life, to form a chain of events that would give them motivation to continue. They can accomplish this in several ways. Certain angels will choose to simply watch over their human and be a lingering presence, but not one that is visible. Other angels will take a more forward approach and insert themselves into their lives as a friend of the person, but will not reveal their true identity. It depends on the nature of the angel and the feelings of the human. Whatever works to keep the humans in check. Of course, the angels are all aware that every human must die at some point; the point of the angels is not to keep the human alive for as long as possible, it is to make sure that they follow the plan that was created for them.

However, plans are not always set in stone, and even angels are not always perfect.

This story tells of three angels who were perhaps imperfect in their duties, but perfect for the humans they were assigned to be the guardian of. Their names are Castiel, Gabriel, and Avriel. Castiel chose to bond with his human, Dean Winchester, once Dean made a fatal mistake in fulfilling his purpose in life. The two were now firm friends, and had been for nine years, ever since Castiel pulled Dean out of hell. Gabriel had been assigned Dean’s brother, Sam Winchester, and had originally meant to never involve with him directly. However, Gabriel’s nature was often too much for him, and the kind of fun he had convinced Sam and Dean that he was one of the monsters they needed to kill. Gabriel had narrowly escaped that one, and even though Sam and Dean knew his true identity, he still remained distant from them both. Neither of the Winchesters had seen Gabriel for the best part of 8 years. Sam still thought of him sometimes, but what could he do? Gabriel was unreachable all the time he chose to keep himself distant. Castiel was ever present in his human’s life, and Gabriel was totally absent in his.

Avriel, well. Avriel started a band with his.


	2. Open Your Eyes, Look Up To The Skies, and See

“So, what I was thinking was that we could…”

A thoughtful look appeared on Avriel’s face as Scott began pitching his ideas for their new album. He had become a part of the band in 2011 when he had been introduced to Scott through a mutual friend. He had been present on Earth for some time, waiting for the right moment to step into Mitch’s life and had made friends who had marvelled at how unusually deep his voice was, and got him into singing. Avi, as he was known to his friends, enjoyed performing. It gave him an identity on this strange Earth; it was something that stood out about him that wasn’t, “Oh, that’s Avi. He doesn’t know how phones or cash machines work.” When Scott had approached him about joining a band, he had jumped at the chance. He met Kirstin and Mitch later, feeling a connection with Mitch immediately. I’ve found him, he’d thought in satisfaction.

The group had entered and won a competition called The Sing-Off, which (after a very embarrassing incident involving Avi holding a microphone upside down without realising and the others not being able to work out what was ruining their rehearsals for half an hour) had made them famous. People wanted more of their music, and so they began to sell albums. Recording studios had become familiar to Avi, so this conversation was nothing new. This would be their fifth album that wasn’t a Christmas album, and they were focusing on “classics.” Avi wasn’t sure what a “classic” was, but he was looking forward to it.

The fame and album sales weren’t the only progressions made over the years, of course. The five of them were lifelong friends, sharing inside jokes and generally being inseparable. Avi was protective of Kirstie, like an older brother to her, and Scott in turn was like an older brother to him. Avi and Kevin were extremely close, regarding each other as brothers and referring to themselves as “meat and potatoes.” And of course, Avi and Mitch had an unbreakable bond. They got teased about how close they were a lot, by Scott in particular. Neither Avi nor Mitch blamed him. Avi thought Mitch was beautiful, talented, and sweet, and Mitch adored Avi, thinking of him as superior to himself and all other human beings. Mitch didn’t know how right he was.

None of them knew what Avriel really was. They’d probably think he was crazy if he told them; most of them didn’t believe in a God, let alone angels. Avi respected them, a lot of humans didn’t have a faith nowadays. That was just the way it was. Avi had shyly discussed the concept of angels with Kevin, who was a Christian, once, and Kevin had replied that he wasn’t sure. He didn’t have to understand God to have faith in Him. Avi had liked that response. It showed that Kevin was an open person.

“Avi, what do you think?” Scott asked.

Crap. Avi hadn’t been listening. He glanced at the list in Scott’s hand desperately, noticing it was quite long. “Well,” he replied awkwardly, “the songs are all great, but we’ll need to choose about nine or ten of them, we can’t have the album being too long.” He gave a strained smile, hoping he hadn’t just said something completely wrong.

Luckily, Scott nodded back at him, and began, “well, I think Bohemian Rhapsody would be a great one, because everyone loves that song and it’d also be a really could accomplishment for us as an a cappella band.”

The others nodded and gathered around the list to begin the selection process.

 

-

 

A smile appeared across Castiel’s face as Dean entered the kitchen. “Hello, Dean.”

“Hey, Cas,” Dean replied, reaching into the fridge for a beer.

“Did the hunt go okay?” Cas asked awkwardly.

“What’s with the small talk?” Dean gave a confused look. “Yeah, it was fine. Sam’s just upstairs taking a shower. How’ve you been?”

“Fine, you know, this and that…” Cas trailed off.

“Did you go to heaven again?” Dean asked, sounding sharp as he always did when he asked about heaven.

“Yes, I had things to take care of.” Cas answered reluctantly, hoping Dean wouldn’t be mad at him now. “I don’t know why it matters so much.” He muttered.

“I just don’t like it when you spend time up there.” Dean complained, sounding sulky.

“Why?” Cas pleaded with Dean. “What’s so bad about me visiting heaven sometimes that it makes you so angry with me?”

“I just don’t see what you get out of it!” Dean snapped at the angel. “You’re different, you’re not like anyone else up there!”

Cas gave a sigh, knowing what Dean’s experiences of other angels were. “The others aren’t all bad Dean, I promise, it’s just that…” Cas paused to think. “It’s just that the only other angels you’ve encountered are bad.”

“Yeah, well.” Dean huffed. “I still don’t know why you’d want to go there so often. I’m going to take Sam a beer.” And he retrieved another bottle from the fridge and left the room.

Dean hadn’t told the whole truth in that argument. The thing was, he had been to heaven. It was the person’s (or angel’s) idea of Paradise. If Cas went there too often, Dean worried that he might never come back.

 

-

 

As it happened, Castiel had very good reasons for going to heaven. He knew Dean was right and that not all angels could be trusted, particularly as most of them held bad opinions of Castiel. However, there were two angels that Castiel did get along with very well; Gabriel and Avriel. Avriel and Castiel had been in the same garrison and were very good friends, conversing often about the mysteries of humans and how they led their lives. Gabriel was, of course, an archangel, so Castiel had only encountered him when he was assigned the guardian of Sam Winchester, the younger brother of Castiel’s own human. Gabriel had taken an interest in Sam from the beginning, but had only appeared to him a couple of times. Sam prayed to Gabriel a lot; Castiel heard him when he stayed with the Winchesters. The angel had often wanted to comfort Sam, but had never been sure of what to say.

Castiel looked around his heaven with a feeling of content. He didn’t want much. He just wanted, every now and again, to relax and talk with his friends, his brothers.

“Castiel!” chimed an unusually deep voice.

Castiel greeted his brother with a warm smile. “Avriel.”

“Will Gabriel be joining us?” The bearded angel asked.

“That is, and always will be, a surprise.”

“You’re right. How are the Winchesters?”

Castiel sighed. “As well as they can be in their profession. I worry about them, but that’s nothing new.”

“And sometimes I think my human is difficult to understand,” Avriel joked. “I like him, though, of course, and you like Sam and Dean. At least we’re both the guardians of humans who want to be good people, instead of having to desperately try and steer someone in the right direction every day.”

“That’s very true, but we too are in strange positions,” replied Castiel with a knowing look.

Avriel only smiled back. It had been some years since Castiel had shyly confided that he felt something for Dean Winchester that was more than just a need to protect. Avriel had comforted and reassured him, before admitting that he felt very much the same when he was with Mitch. “Well,” he had said. “It’s not like any Nephilim would be created if we did end up, you know, with them.”

Castiel had laughed at that. Avriel always seemed to know what to say. He had never met Mitchell Grassi, but he knew he was a very lucky human.

This pleasant train of thought was interrupted by a sudden shout. “Getting all sappy without me, boys?”

“Gabriel,” remarked a disgruntled Castiel.

“You’re one to talk,” Avriel pointed out. “You’re so in love with Sam that you won’t even acknowledge him for fear of him disliking you.”

“My dear deep-voiced Avriel, you could not be more wrong!” exclaimed a dramatic and affronted Gabriel. “The reason I don’t talk to Sam is because…”

“Yes?” Avriel persisted, seeing that Gabriel was going to struggle with this question.

“Well, uh, it’s because…” A satisfied smirk began to creep across Avriel’s face.

“I don’t know why I take the time out of my schedule to talk to you two,” retorted the archangel sulkily. “If you’re just going to be mean to me.”

“Gabriel, you once set rabid squirrels loose in here,” Castiel reminded him, gesturing around to the beautiful, well-kept gardens of his little corner of heaven that had suffered so horribly at the time. “And you sent Avriel and his band to a fake recording studio you had built that had no working equipment.”

Avriel recalled the incident. He hadn’t suspected Gabriel at the time, just thought, like the others, that they had managed to go to the completely wrong place. Gabriel had never let Avriel live that down.

The archangel at least had the decency to look fairly guilty at those accusations.

“Anyway, that was what I meant to speak to you about,” said Castiel, getting back to the point. “Sam still prays to you, you know. It isn’t fair for you to keep ignoring him, especially as he has to see Dean get answers from his guardian whenever he wants him. Your job is to care about him, Gabriel- “

“See that’s where you’re wrong, Cas,” Gabriel sounded defeated rather than angry as he argued with his brother. “Our job isn’t to care, it’s to protect and guide until they grow old and die like all humans do.”

Castiel and Avriel shared a look at this statement. So that was why Gabriel was so afraid to talk to Sam.

“So, protect and guide him,” was Castiel’s eventual reply. “He’s asking for both of those things when he prays to you. Give them, in any way, shape, or form. It’s the least you can do.” With that, Castiel nodded a quick goodbye to Avriel and vanished from sight.

“Peace out, brother,” said Gabriel for a goodbye, and in a split second he too disappeared.

Avriel didn’t leave, however. He sat down in the soft grass of Castiel’s heaven and sighed. What Gabriel had said had struck a chord in him, something that often nagged at his mind that he didn’t want to think about.

Mitch would grow old.

Mitch would die, eventually.

That seemed like a while away, but Avriel had lived a long life.

He knew it wasn’t long at all.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment because I’m an insecure bitch


	3. So You Think You Can Love Me and Leave Me To Die?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so sorry about how late this chapter is, this past week I’ve been ill and also suffering from low mental health. This is a bit of a filler chapter, things will get more exciting in the next one.

***Third person P.O.V - Avi***  
   
Avi returned to his and Mitch's shared apartment late in the evening. Mitch was still up, under a blanket on the sofa watching some reality show. He smiled at Avi upon seeing him.  
   
"Where've you been?" He asked, a slightly suggestive look on his face.  
   
"Walking," Avi answered, grinning back at him. The angel found it quite amusing how oblivious Mitch really was. He didn't expect Mitch to know where he was going, obviously, but Mitch appeared to think that he was meeting someone in private for... Well, non-platonic reasons. To Avi, of course, the notion was ridiculous. He'd never loved any human except Mitch, and it wasn't as if he was capable enough of finding a human to go on a date. When he first came to Earth, it was Castiel who showed him the ropes, and all the human friends he'd made since had either been the one to approach him first, or they were introduced to him. Mitch joked a lot about Avi's social awkwardness. He figured this suspicion was a joke too.  
   
"You sure you were just walking?" Was Mitch's next question.  
   
"Would you prefer a different verb? Strolling, rambling perhaps?" Avi's grin grew wider.  
   
"Aw, Avi, stop teasing," Mitch's expression matched Avi's. "Did you see anything interesting? Anyone interesting?"  
   
"How many times do I have to tell you?" Avi asked, flopping down on the sofa beside Mitch. "I do not have a secret lover. I promise that if I managed to persuade someone to go on a date with me, you would be the first to know."  
   
Mitch seemed satisfied with that answer.  
   
   
   
-  
   
   
 ***Third Person P.O.V - Mitch***  
   
Mitch was not satisfied with that answer.  
   
He shuffled closer to Avi on the sofa, watching his expressions as he tried to watch the ridiculous show Mitch had on. He’d been in love with the bass since, hell, since The Sing-Off. Avi wasn’t his usual type, but there was something about him. Those green eyes held something uniquely soulful that it was impossible not to fall in love with. He had once asked Avi whether he liked guys or girls, blushing the whole time of course. Avi’s reply was that he didn’t really know. Mitch had asked him what that meant, and Avi had said that he didn’t really see a difference between the two. Mitch decided he liked that outlook, and had dropped the subject. Turned out, learning Avi was not quite straight was the worst thing for Mitch. He’d gotten his hopes up after that, and they were still up after six years. He didn’t want to dwell on what it would be like if Avi did turn out to be seeing someone. He didn’t want his own heartbreak to begin before there was a cause for it. No matter how heartbroken he would be, though, woe betide anyone who hurt Avi Kaplan.  
   
See, Avi was... Different. He struggled to understand a lot of things. He didn't like to talk about his family. Mitch knew he had siblings, he often mentioned brothers and sisters, but never parents. Mitch had only ever met one of Avi’s siblings, Esther, who managed their band. Mitch thought it was funny; Avi often talked about other siblings but Esther never did. By contrast, Esther occasionally mentioned parents but Avi never did. Mitch had often wondered why this was, but he was too afraid to ask. He got the impression that Avi hadn’t gotten along with his parents as well as Esther had. The closest he had gotten to solving the mystery of the other Kaplan siblings was the guess that there were so many that they hadn’t all kept in touch. None of their differences seemed to affect the bond Avi and Esther had, however. They seemed particularly close, closer than either of them were with their other siblings. Mitch didn’t know why that was, either.  
   
“See anything you like?” Avi joked, and Mitch realised he’d been staring.  
   
“Just thinking,” was Mitch’s reply, his face flushing red.  
   
“What are you thinking about?”  
   
“Just about the new album,” Mitch lied quickly. “It’s so weird, we’ve come so far, and it doesn’t even feel like a long time. It doesn’t seem real.”  
   
“Tell me about it,” said Avi, giving a thoughtful smile. “It makes you feel thankful, you know? We’ve been so lucky.”  
   
“We have been, but it’s not like we haven’t been working insanely hard for six years to get this far,” Mitch pointed out.  
   
“That’s true,” A smile crept up Avi’s face at the memories that came flooding back. “Do you remember what we all looked like when we entered The Sing Off?”  
   
“Oh God,” Mitch laughed. “I had such a baby face – like, I know I still do, but I pretty much was a baby back then. I was only 18”  
   
“Didn’t you miss your graduation because of the audition times?”  
   
“Yeah, I did,” Mitch recalled. “What happened to us was worth missing a thousand graduations,” he stated decisively. Avi nodded in agreement. He opened his mouth to say something to Mitch, right before his phone rang.

Avi removed his mobile from his pocket and glanced at the screen before looking back at Mitch with a sheepish face. “Um, sorry, I kind of have to take this...”

“No problem,” Mitch smiled as reassuringly as he could. It was probably Scott or Esther with something about the set list, or tour dates, or whatever. They may have even been after Mitch if they were calling Avi - the tenor had left his phone in the other room. Mitch craned his neck to look at the phone screen-

Who the hell was _Cas?_

 

-

 

***Third Person P.O.V - Avi***

Avi left the room before pressing the “accept call” button. “Castiel,” he said in greeting. “What do you want?” Avi was trying hard to sound friendly, but he and Mitch had been having a really nice conversation then.

“Avriel, I apologise.” Cas’ voice sounded heavy through the phone. “I just wanted to see if you were alright, you looked like something had upset you earlier-“

“I’m fine,” replied Avi quickly. “Just some of the stuff Gabriel was saying, is all.”

“I see,” Cas sighed. “Listen, if you ever need to talk, you can come to me.”

“You have enough to deal with with Sam and Dean, let alone my issues. I can handle it,” Avriel lied. “I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Goodbye.” And then the line went dead.

Avi walked back into the living room, but Mitch wasn’t on the sofa anymore. Assuming he had gone to bed, Avi went to his own bedroom, flopping down on the bed with a sigh. “Night, Mitch,” he called.

“Goodnight, Avi” was the distant, sleepy reply.

Avi himself didn’t sleep, but he could feel when Mitch was. It was part of the bond between them, that Avi could sense Mitch’s feelings. The angel could tell when Mitch was in his most peaceful state, and he liked to feel it too. Mitch wasn’t a particularly calm person, and it was good for him to rest. Avi worried that Mitch had been mad at him for taking the call from Castiel, so him being able to sleep now was, Avi supposed, a good sign. After all, he’d been in situations where Mitch was up all night, worrying incessantly about things and losing his sleep. He was glad that wasn’t the case tonight. Smiling contentedly, the angel closed his eyes and patiently waited for morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come talk to me on tumblr @howdoiusername


	4. Imagine There’s No Heaven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh look a chapter that’s sort of on time.

Avriel’s peaceful state was rudely interrupted at 4 o’clock in the morning by a ringing in his ears.

He clutched his head at the shock of pain that came with suddenly tuning in to angel radio, before hearing a voice that did nothing to lessen the pain.

“Morning, sunshine,” Avriel could hear the stupid smirk in Gabriel’s voice; the archangel clearly not caring at all about the disturbance he had caused. “Meet me in Cassie’s heaven? There’s something we need to discuss.”

Avriel groaned as he got up, trying to make his way through the house as quietly as he could. Mitch’s sleep was important, and he didn’t want to disturb it. After getting changed into new clothes, he shut the door as gently as he could behind him as he crept out of the house.

When he reached Castiel’s heaven, the first person he saw was Gabriel. “Has Castiel been kind enough to answer your rather rude wake-up-call?”

“This is why I don’t spend time with humans,” Gabriel had a look of mock-disgust on his face. “You’re starting to think you need sleep. I mean, sleeping, lying there in a state of unconsciousness when you could be doing so many more fun things…”

“From what I’ve heard, sleep can be quite fun,” came a voice behind Avriel. “Dean once had a dream that he was swimming in cherry pie filling.”

“Castiel, so good of you to join us- “

“You said it was urgent?” interrupted the clearly very annoyed angel.  
“Don’t trust me? Or do you just want to get back to watching Dean sleep?” Even Avriel snickered at that comment.  
“I do not watch Dean sleep.”

“Do too.”

“Do not.”

“Do too.”

“Do not.”

“Guys!” Intervened Avriel, who was laughing slightly at his brothers acting like toddlers. “Gabriel, you said we needed to talk. Out with it.”

Gabriel’s expression turned serious then. “Word on the street is that hell is planning something big – they know angels are decreasing in numbers, and since someone-“ here he gave a look at Castiel, “let the King of Hell get his hands on some of our blades, demons are killing angels just to get more weapons that can be used to kill angels. They want us out completely.”  
“So, what, you’re suggesting we go undercover?” Avriel asked.

“Just saying that it might be good to lay low, and watch who you spend time with carefully,” Gabriel explained.

Castiel didn’t say anything, but nodded. If demons were going on a killing spree, he knew his name would be high up on the list. Avriel hadn’t done much other than be the first ever angel to form a band with the human he was guardian of, but he was going on tour in a few months. How was he supposed to lay low when his face was going to be plastered on the side of almost every arena in the United States, and even some foreign countries? If demons were out for angels, there was no way he was going to be missed. He’d just have to keep his identity quiet, as quiet as possible.

 

  
-  
 

 

As soon as Avi hit Earth again, his phone rang. It was Esther.   
“Hello?” Avi answered.

“Just checking you weren’t too busy with your friends upstairs to remember that we agreed to meet in half an hour? Mitch said he woke up and you’d ran off somewhere?”

“It was urgent, I swear,” Avi knew he sounded a bit pathetic with that excuse, but with what he’s just been told, he could hardly explain to Esther what exactly was going on in the middle of the street. “Is Mitch mad at me?”

Esther gave a laugh before replying, “He’s a bit quiet, says he’s tired. We’ll see how his mood changes when you get here, shall we?”

Avi smiled into the phone despite the worry now brewing in his gut. “I’ll see you in half an hour,” he said, and hung up.

Avi was one minute late, which of course his friends gave him hell for. Scott managed to go a whole two minutes without laughing in the mock “not-taking-this-band-seriously” lecture, before grinning at Avi and getting back to their set list. They’d chosen seven songs deemed as classics and today they were recording “Imagine,” a song written by John Lennon. Avi hadn’t heard of it before Kevin suggested they put it on the album, but he listened to it and loved it. He and John Lennon shared a similar world view, he thought. Avi was also going to be singing in this one, something he hardly ever did. Sure, he liked making various growling noises and inception sounds, but he’d always enjoyed singing too.

Yeah, Avi was excited about this one.

Or he would have been if Mitch wasn’t pretty clearly extremely pissed at him.

Avi knew really that he shouldn’t have abandoned Mitch in the middle of the night, but when Gabriel acts serious about something, he knows it’s important. He wishes Mitch knew, but Mitch can’t know now. He doesn’t know who could be listening to him. Besides, Mitch would probably think he was crazy. He knew Mitch thought he was seeing someone, but Avi barely knew how humans worked, let alone the dating world. Avi couldn’t say anything, and he hated it. “Hey, Mitch, I know you’re really pissed at me for sneaking out of the house all the time but I’m actually an angel, your guardian angel, and I go and visit heaven to see my brothers who are also angels. By the way, I’ve been hopelessly in love with you since the day I first saw you, but I can’t tell you that because I’m going to keep living for thousands of years until someone eventually kills me and you’re going to have a normal human lifespan and it would break my heart to watch you die.” Avi looked over at his human longingly. He hated this, hated that Mitch was mad at him, and hated that it was all his fault.

After they had finished recording their individual parts for the song, Avi nervously approached Mitch. “Are you alright?” He asked, his mind desperately trying to come up with an excuse that Mitch would believe. “I was, um-“

“Yeah, whatever,” Mitch snapped. “I’m staying with Scott tonight.”

“Okay.” Avi responded, walking away. He knew it was useless trying to talk Mitch round. He’d let him deal with this on his own, and then Avi would be more careful. Come to think of it, with Gabriel’s recent warning, he’d probably be visiting heaven a lot less anyway-

“Trouble in paradise?” Kevin joked from behind Avi. The bearded man sighed.

“It’s not funny,” he sighed, turning to face his friend. He knew he sounded sulky the minute the words came out of his mouth. Kevin gave him a sympathetic smile.

“Heard Mitch is staying over at Scott’s - want me to come over and keep you company?”

Avi gave Kevin a grateful look. “That’d be great, thanks.”

Well, Avi thought to himself, at least every human in my life doesn’t totally hate me.

 

-

 

Castiel returned to the bunker deep in thought. He’d considered telling Sam and Dean, but he was sick of them getting hurt on the angel’s account. He was supposed to be protecting them. Well, Dean. But Sam and Dean came as a package, and since Gabriel was adamantly absent from Sam’s life, Castiel felt it his duty to protect the younger Winchester, too.  
Sam informed Cas that Dean had gone out for food, so Cas sat down to Sam’s laptop, trying to find a case to distract himself from his current situation. The angel was reading his fifth newspaper article when he heard talking from down the corridor.

He left his seat in front of the laptop and walked down the hall, stopping outside the younger Winchester’s bedroom.

“...I don’t even know if you’re listening anymore, but I need help.”

Oh. Cas realised. Sam was praying.

“I don’t know what do to. Dean’s mad, he’s always mad at something, but now it seems serious. Cas looks worried, and the demonic activity has skyrocketed recently...So, uh, if you can hear me, I could use some advice.” Silence. And then “Please, Gabriel.”

Cas let his body fall against the wall. Of course Sam knew, he was too intelligent not to know. Castiel had suspected that Sam felt left out, or abandoned, or something of that nature, but he didn’t know that Sam had prayed to Gabriel. What Sam must actually be feeling was ignored. Which, arguably, was a much worse feeling.

Castiel took a deep breath, and tuned into angel radio.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My tumblr is @howdoiusername if you wanna give feedback.
> 
> But please be nice ok I’m sensitive.


	5. Living For Today

“I just can’t believe he would hide things from me, I mean, he’s supposed to be my best friend; we’ve lived together for nearly three years- “

Scott poured himself a second glass of wine. This was going to be a long night.

“Listen, Mitch, you’re assuming things. Avi’s not like that, we know he’s not. Maybe he’s just uncomfortable with telling you.”

“Why would he be uncomfortable with me? We share an apartment, we tell each other everything- “

“We get it, you’re practically married,” Kirstie commented, walking back into Scott’s living room, where Mitch was sprawled on the sofa as if he was dying. The look on his face was about that dramatic, too. Kirstie and Scott were the only two people who could handle Mitch at his worst; they’d figured that teaming up would make this night easier for everyone. Mitch whined then, and Kirstie sighed.

“Look, I just think you’re treating this as a more serious thing than it needs to be. Avi goes off by himself sometimes, he’s a quiet guy. He likes his alone time. But he doesn’t keep secrets, especially not from you.”

“I’m worried I’ve upset him.”

“You’ll have upset him now, acting pissed at him all day with no explanation.” Scott pointed out.

“It’s not him going away that I’m upset about, it’s that he never tells me where he’s going or why he’s going there. He says he’s walking, but he can be away for hours sometimes. He’s got to be doing something, and I don’t understand why he hides it from me.”

“He’s not yours, Mitch,” Kirstie said, sounding sympathetic. “He doesn’t owe you anything.”

“I know that- “

“Are you sure it’s just concern you’re feeling? That there’s not something else there?” Scott pushed.

Scott, Kirstie, and Kevin had all known that Mitch and Avi loved each other for years. Neither one had ever said anything about it, they were too shy for that, but it was obvious. It was in the way the two looked at each other, spoke to each other, laughed with each other, stared when the other wasn’t looking. None of the three wanted to pressure their friends into getting together or confessing how they felt, but they’d often wondered how six years had gone with neither of them making a move. They’d put it down to Mitch overdramatising the possibility of rejection in his head, and Avi’s shyness.

“What do you mean?” Mitch asked, looking defensive suddenly.

“That you aren’t jealous of this partner you think Avi has?”

“Are you suggesting I’m in love with him?”

“Of course he’s not suggesting that,” Kirstie said, a small smirk crossing her face. “That would be like suggesting water was wet, or suggesting the sky was blue. He’s pointing out the obvious.” Seeing the slightly intimidated look on Mitch’s face, she continued. “I’m not making fun of you, Mitch, it’s just not very difficult to tell.”

“Do you think he knows?” Mitch asked timidly.

“I think Avi’s too wrapped up in thinking the exact same things about you that you do about him to notice.” Scott laughed.

“Don’t laugh at me.” Mitch sulked.

“I’m not, Mitch, it’s just so clear to everyone else how you two feel about each other, which makes it hilarious that you two still think you’re going to be rejected. I mean, how many times have you been asked by strangers how long you’ve been together? You behave like a couple.”

“You really think Avi loves me back?”

“We know he does” Kirstie answered with a smile.

“The whole world knows he does,” Scott muttered.

“Do you think I should tell him how I feel?”

“Do what you think is right. Stay here for tonight, then go home, apologise, and continue from there.” Scott answered.

That sounded sensible to Mitch. He felt relaxed now, and shifted himself into a more comfortable position on Scott’s sofa. “Is there any more wine left?” He asked, and his friends laughed.

It had been an eventful day.

  
   
-

  
   
It had been an eventful day in the Winchesters’ bunker, too.

Castiel’s constant asking Gabriel to pay attention to Sam had finally paid off, it appeared. Gabriel had left Sam a note. However, the archangel Gabriel, most powerful trickster of them all, did not leave notes on paper. He was far too extravagant for that.

He had left Sam a cake. A devil’s food cake – a bit of a sick joke, thought Sam -  iced with white lettering that read “You are smarter than the angel sent to guide you – G.”

Dean, of course, had found Sam standing over the cake in disbelief and asked him why on Earth he wasn’t cutting a slice, before reading the message iced onto the cake. “Damn right,” was Dean’s only comment, before walking out of the room, shaking his head. Sam knew how his older brother felt about angels, particularly ones that ignored the human they were the guardian of and had tried to kill him 100 times.

Castiel had woken up then, and seen the “note”, and sighed deeply. Sam had a million questions, but the only one he could manage to sputter out was “Why?”

“I could say the same thing,” mused Castiel. “Gabriel is…extravagant and ridiculous. He’s a trickster. He’ll play tricks. I suppose, considering he isn’t trying to kill your brother, we have to take this as a good sign.”

Sam had spent the whole rest of the day poring over books about guardian angels, but could find nothing like this. He shouldn’t have been surprised, really. Was there anyone else like the archangel? He hoped not. One Gabriel was bad enough. Two would end the world.

Late in the evening, Sam was in the kitchen grabbing another beer from the fridge, and his eyes couldn’t help wandering to the cake that was still untouched on the counter. He let out a sigh, and turned to go back to his books.

And there stood his guardian angel.

Gabriel pointed at the cake on the counter behind Sam, and a look of mock-disappointment appeared on his face. “I put a lot of effort into that, and you haven’t touched it,” he complained.

“I thought the, uh, the icing message might require further analysis,” offered Sam as a lame excuse.

“It’s true.” was all Gabriel said on the matter.

“How can it be, you’re an archangel, you’re older than the Earth- “

“Gabriel,” came a voice that startled them both. Castiel was standing in the hall behind Gabriel, a wary look on his face.

“Castiel, why so blue?” Gabriel asked. “I thought this was what you wanted.”

“You’ve talked to him?” Sam asked.

“Angel radio,” answered Cas, before turning back to his brother. “And it is, but I’d rather you did it in a less…showy fashion.”

“Just not how I roll, Cassie,” Gabriel smiled. “I’m here, aren’t I? I’m communicating.”

“Cas, please, just leave us alone- “ Sam pleaded.

“What’s going on?” Dean was up now, and he sounded angry.

Walking into the kitchen, he looked from Cas, to Sam, and his eyes rested on Gabriel. “Get out.”

“I’m getting a lot of different messages from a lot of different people here,” Gabriel started.

“Get out. I mean it,” threatened Dean, brandishing the angel blade Sam hadn’t realised he was holding.

“See you soon, Sammy,” Gabriel winked, and vanished.

“Why did you do that?” Sam questioned his brother, a look on his face that was part desperate and part defeated.

“Because, in case you didn’t notice, he killed me a hundred times! He’ll hurt you, Sam!”

“Dean, go to bed,” Cas intervened. And then, more sharply, “Go.”

Dean went.

“Why did he have to do that?” Sam asked the angel.

“Dean’s just trying to look out for you. I’m afraid he doesn’t have a very good idea of what my people are like,” Cas sighed.

Sam knew there was no use asking anything further about Dean. “Why did Gabriel do what he did this morning instead of talking to me?”

“Gabriel is afraid of becoming attached, of loving a human and then dealing with them dying. The whole idea of guardian angels actually being present in their human’s life is a fairly new thing,” Cas explained.

“Thanks, Cas,” Sam said. After a pause, “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Sam.”

Sam Winchester lay awake for most of that night. The last thing on his mind before he fell asleep was this: if he was attached, why shouldn’t Gabriel be?

 

-

 

“Thanks for coming round,” Avi smiled at Kevin as the two sat down.

“Hey, it’s no problem.”

Avi wasn’t sure what to say next. The only person he’d ever confessed his feelings for Mitch to was Castiel, who could be trusted. If he told Kevin, he might find himself pressured into facing what he felt, which would end badly for him and Mitch alike.

“Look, I know it’s none of my business,” Kevin began, “But where are you going for so long that makes Mitch so upset at you?”

Avi took a deep breath. He couldn’t tell Kevin, could he? The man had a strong faith, he was the most likely to even believe Avi, let alone understand his situation. Avi thought of Kevin like a brother. But no, he couldn’t. It was too dangerous.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” was all he answered.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are much appreciated.


	6. But Then His Number Came Up And He Was Gone With The Draft

Kevin raised an eyebrow and Avi grew nervous. “You aren’t in any trouble, are you? Because whatever it is, we can help you, Avi…”

“Don’t worry, I’m not in trouble,” Avi sighed. “It’s complicated.”

“Then tell me and I’ll try my best to understand,” Kevin was looking desperate and worried, and Avi hated himself for doing this to his best friend. “It can’t be that bad.”

“Do you believe in angels?” Avi asked tentatively.

“What does that have to do with anything? I’m trying to help you-“

“Just answer the question.” Avi pleaded.

“I mean, sure? It was the angel Gabriel who was meant to have told Mary about Jesus, right? I haven’t thought about angels much. But what do angels have to do with you and Mitch arguing?”

Avi took a deep breath. It was only a matter of time before he did this, anyway.

“Kevin, you are going to think I am completely insane when I tell you this,” Avi sighed, praying that Kevin had faith enough – in Avi or in God – to listen. “But I am one.”

 

-

 

Castiel knocked on Dean’s door after Sam had gone back to bed. “What?” came the muffled shout from inside Dean’s bedroom. Cas opened the door and walked in, stopping to stand at the foot of Dean’s bed.

“You know it looks really creepy when you do that? I always think you’re going to murder me,” Dean commented, sitting up in bed tiredly.

“You know why I want to speak to you, Dean,” Cas sighed heavily.

“You want to talk about why I won’t let my brother talk to an angel that tried to kill me a hundred times and has never once tried to protect him despite being his ‘guardian’? Gee, Cas, I have no idea-“

“I understand why you don’t like Gabriel,” Cas struggled to find the words he hoped would change Dean’s mind. “But can’t Sam make his own choices? He clearly wants to have contact with Gabriel-“

“You do remember that my brother once trusted a demon that told him to drink her blood more than he trusted me? Sam’s hardly a reliable person when it comes to deciding who to trust.”

Cas knew it was no use pressing the subject. That was the thing with Dean Winchester – once he had an opinion, there was no changing his mind. Ironically, that was also one of the man’s strengths. He decided to try a different angle.

“Do you think all angels are evil, Dean?”

“All angels except you that I’ve had experiences with have tried to kill me. I think you’ll excuse me for having that opinion.”

“Is that why you get angry when I visit heaven?”

“I’m not angry, I’m confused. You’re not like the rest of them, Cas! You care about people, you don’t think that people who cause trouble should just be killed, you…” Dean paused here, as if not sure whether to say what had come into his head. “You have a heart, Cas.”

Castiel swallowed. Angels weren’t really supposed to have human qualities. The likes of him and Avriel were usually scorned by other angels for “thinking they were human”. They weren’t good angels from the point of view of their own kind, but the love they received from the humans they had contact with was something irreplaceable. When humans loved, they loved completely and were willing to go a long way for the people they loved. Cas felt sorry for the angels that didn’t have that, even if it did mean he was a bad angel by angelic standards.

He decided Dean’s standards mattered a lot more.

“Goodnight, Dean,” Cas said, barely a whisper, and left the room.

 

-

 

Kevin was more confused than he had ever been in his life. “What do you mean?” he managed to ask, slightly terrified.

“It’s all real. God, angels, prophets, the devil, all of it. And I know it sounds ridiculous, but I am an angel of the Lord.”

“Could you…prove it to me?” Kevin asked. “I know that’s probably blasphemous, but this is all very sudden and weird-“

“No, I understand,” Avi paused. Then the angel snapped his fingers and was on the other side of the room.

“Okay. Teleportation. Cool.” Kevin was dumbstruck. Avi gave a nervous laugh.

“Are you okay?” he asked, venturing back towards Kevin. He knew it was a stupid question, but he was worried. Humans had been known to die of shock.

“I’m as okay as I can be after finding out that my best friend is a freaking angel.” Kevin responded. “What else can you do?”

“Well, if you were to cut yourself, I could heal the wound simply by laying my hands on it.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes. It’s why Mitch never wakes up with a hangover,” Avi explained, looking sheepish.

“That explains a lot,” Kevin muttered. “So, are you trying to tell me that when you go off by yourself, you’re seeing other angels?”

“In heaven,” Avi affirmed.

“Heaven,” Kevin whispered. “What’s it like?”

“It’s different for everybody,” Both Kevin and Avi were slightly more relaxed now, so Avi sat back down next to his friend on the sofa. “Everyone has their own personal heaven.”

“Am I allowed to ask what yours is?” Kevin asked, the expression of awe never shifting from his face.

“Mine’s a forest. I’m completely alone in it, but it’s not scary at all. I can just walk through it and be at peace.”

“Wow,” was Kevin’s only response. Then a curious look spread across his face. “Hang on, is Esther an angel too?”

“No,” Avi sighed. “She’s human, but she knows what I am.”

“How do you know her?”

Avi took a deep breath. He was aware how much this sounded like possession, but Kevin deserved an explanation after the shock he’d just had. “Angels need vessels to appear on Earth,” he started.

“Vessels?” Kevin asked.

“Human bodies to take on. I know, I know, it sounds awful when I say it like that. But the human in question must be special, must be faithful, and willing to give up their body to host one of the divine. There was a guy from California that caught heaven’s eye, a man named Benjamin Kaplan-“

Kevin, despite himself, laughed. “Your middle name,” he realised.

“Yeah. I talked to him, and he was willing to have me use his body as a host to be present on Earth. Esther was his sister; they had a very close relationship. She was the only person he told about me, and she believed him, and supported him. But when I took over his body, I guess she realised that she’d lost her brother. I comforted her, and told her he was still alive in me, and that I would try to be her brother. She didn’t like the idea, at first, but we’ve grown together over time. I think – or at least I hope – she sees me as her brother now.”

“That’s…amazing.” Kevin almost laughed, his body seeming to release tension. And then, “Are you going to tell Mitch?”

“I really should, considering he’s why I’m on Earth in the first place.” Seeing Kevin’s confused expression, Avi explained, “I’m Mitch’s guardian angel. Every human has one, but it’s a fairly new thing to have contact with them. I guess I couldn’t help myself.”

Kevin was quiet then, and Avi could tell he was thinking about his own guardian angel. Avi wished he knew who that was. “Well,” Kevin finally said. “I’ll be there for you if you ever want to tell him. I’ll try and convince him you’re not crazy.”

Avi grinned at his best friend, trying to silence the voice in his head that was telling him he was now in a lot of danger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a new tumblr, @aspiringauthoranna if you want to chat to me on there. Feedback is much appreciated.
> 
> The next chapter will be up around 8th January with the next two weeks being Christmas and new year. Happy holidays everyone!


	7. And When He Played He Made The Company Jump Eight To The Bar

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m back!!

Avi walked into his and Mitch’s apartment late the next morning. Mitch was already home, leaning against the counter sipping at a cup of coffee. Avi gave an awkward smile and took a deep breath. “Listen, Mitch, I’m sorry…”

“Hey, no, I’m sorry. I was the one being a dick. You’ve got every right to go wherever you wanna go, whenever you wanna go there, and it’s not my business. I guess I was just worried and didn’t do a very good job of expressing that.” Mitch had a hopeful look in his eyes, as if there was any chance in heaven or on Earth that Avi wouldn’t forgive him. Avi smiled again, a genuine one this time.

“C’mere,” he said, holding his arms open to Mitch. The younger man accepted the hug with a grateful look, settling his arms around Avi’s neck. They aren’t usually put standing next to each other when they perform live or do band photoshoots, so most people don’t notice that Avi is actually a couple of inches shorter than Mitch. Not a great deal shorter, but short enough to comfortably bury his head in Mitch’s shoulder when they embrace. Mitch always thinks it’s funny when people realise he’s actually pretty tall – it’s what comes from always being stood next to Scott, he jokes.

Both men feel a little sad when they pull apart, but neither of them show it on their faces. Then, Mitch grins at Avi. “Wanna watch Drag Race?” He asks.

Avi can only grin back. They’ve got a day off, after all.

 

-

 

Gabriel had spoken to Sam again. This time, by way of a dream. The dream had been fairly boring at first, just Sam driving in the Impala. It wasn’t a route he remembered taking before, but he and Dean had been to so many places that he couldn’t recall half the roads he’s travelled. But at the end of the dream, he’s reached a park, and seen a flash of light. And then, a voice. Gabriel’s voice, speaking two simple words. “Hiya, Sammy.”

Sam knew it was a bit ridiculous, probably just an effect from the events taken place right before he went to sleep. But he couldn’t seem to stop thinking about it. And, unusually, he could remember every detail of the drive he had taken in his dream-state. Sam usually forgot his dreams as soon as he woke up.

He wasn’t going to tell Dean. He could probably write down the exact words his brother would say before he even said them. Castiel would probably guess what he was doing, but Sam had faith that the angel would cover for him. Sam suspected Cas was the reason Gabriel had shown up last night in the first place.

“Hey,” he said, trying to sound casual as he walked into the kitchen where Dean and Cas were already sitting. Sam grabbed the car keys off the counter and Dean raised an eyebrow.

“Where are you going?” the elder Winchester asked suspiciously.

“Just…out,” Sam replied nonchalantly.

“Without breakfast?” Dean clearly wasn’t buying it.

“That’s actually why I’m going out. We’re out of, uh, granola bars.”

Dean rolled his eyes and took another bite of his breakfast cheeseburger. “Remember, if you so much as scratch that car- “

“You’ll beat my ass, I know, Dean,” Sam laughed, out of relief more than anything. “Later.”

“Bye, Sam,” said Castiel, with a look in his eye. Sam had been absolutely right – the angel totally knew what he was up to.

Before any conversations could be had about it, the youngest Winchester left the bunker, slamming the door behind him.

“What’s got him in such a rush?” Dean asked Cas, who merely shrugged.

 

-

 

A mere five episodes into the ninth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Mitch had fallen asleep on Avi. His head laying on the angel’s shoulder, mouth slightly open, breathing deeply – Avi liked the sight of his sleeping human. He became suddenly aware that he was watching Mitch sleep, the exact thing he had made fun of Castiel for doing to Dean. Avi couldn’t stop the wide grin that spread across his face then. He would have laughed if he hadn’t been afraid of waking Mitch.

He, Avriel Benjamin Kaplan, was a huge hypocrite.

It still felt weird sometimes, thinking of himself with his full name. He knew it wasn’t really his, but it was what Esther called him (when she was mad, that is) and what he booked flights and hotels under, and over time he’d become used to having more than one name.

And there came to the back of his mind the thing he’d been trying not to think about all day. Kevin knew what he was. Kevin knew his story, his vessel, everything about him. And now he would have to tell the others. Which would only put him in more danger.

Demons were out to overpower angels, Avriel had accepted that now. And, realistically, they could. Demons weren’t as powerful as angels, but they knew how to use a weapon, and more importantly, there was a lot more of them. No new angels had been created since the beginning of time. Demons, however, came out of tortured souls in hell. And there were people going to hell every single day.

Suddenly melancholy, Avi looked around his apartment, and the back at Mitch, still fast asleep. He didn’t want to lose all this.

Unthinkingly, he leaned his head down and pressed a kiss to Mitch’s forehead. He didn’t consider the action for a moment before doing it; it had just seemed natural. And then what he had done set in and he felt an overwhelming sense of _wrong_. He knew how he felt, he wasn’t delusional enough to deny it, but he wouldn’t do that to himself. And he most certainly wouldn’t do it to Mitch.

He needed a walk, and he knew exactly where he’d go.

He wrote a quick note and put it on the coffee table so Mitch would see it as soon as he woke up. “Had to go out. Be back soon. Love, Avi.” He hadn’t thought about the “love”, when he wrote it, either.

He shook his head with a sigh, and walked out the door.

 

-

 

Sam followed the route exactly as he remembered it, and was quite surprised when he got to the park and actually found Gabriel standing there. “Hiya, Sammy,” the archangel greeted him, and for a moment Sam wondered if his psychic powers were coming back.

“Hey,” he replied, awkwardly, his hands sinking further into his jacket pockets. He wasn’t sure what to say after last night. “Listen, about Dean…”

The angel cut him off, “It’s alright. I understand your brother’s…issues with angels. What’s important now is you and me, Sammy.”

Sam didn’t really know what to make of that last statement. “Don’t call me ‘Sammy’,” was all he said in response.

“Why?” Sam hated the grin that spread on Gabriel’s face at that. He’d known the trickster would get on his nerves.

“It’s what Dean calls me, because he still thinks I’m his baby brother. You’ve only known me as an adult, you’ve got no need.”

“Don’t forget the whole guardian thing, Gigantor,” Gabriel smirked. “Mary wasn’t lying when she said angels were watching over you.”

“Gigantor?” Was the first thing out of Sam’s mouth.

“I’m eye level with your nipples.”

“If you say so, Short Stack,” Sam grinned, and Gabriel actually smiled back. Sam actually felt this was going well for a change, until they heard a deep voice behind them.

“Gabriel?” the voice asked, and Sam turned to see a bearded man of medium height, who then turned to him. “Sam Winchester. I’ve been wanting to meet you a long time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As ever, comments are much appreciated. My tumblr is @aspiringauthoranna if you’d like to talk to me.


	8. Way Up High

“Sorry, who are you?” Sam had never seen the man before in his life. He didn’t remember hearing a description of an appearance like the one he had, either.

“Forgive me. My name is Avriel. I’m an angel of the Lord,” Avriel said with a friendly smile. “I’m a good friend of Castiel, and of Gabriel here.”

“And a cockblock, apparently,” Gabriel muttered. Neither Sam nor Avriel seemed to hear him.

“Well, it’s, uh, nice to meet you.” Sam didn’t quite know what to say. Avriel seemed nice enough, but it was hard to know with angels. Gabriel seemed okay with his presence, but Gabriel was arguably the hardest one of all to read.

Avriel chuckled. “Don’t be nervous, I don’t want you for any specific purpose. I’ve just heard so much about you from Castiel that I got curious about you and your brother.” The angel seemed genuine. Sam decided to trust him.

“Anyway,” said Gabriel, sounding mildly annoyed. “What brings you here, Avriel?”

“I needed a walk,” he replied, not elaborating. Sam, not for the first time in this conversation, had to hold back from verbally marvelling at the pitch of the angel’s voice.

“Trouble in paradise?” Gabriel grinned, that annoying grin which said he had something over the person he was talking to. A confused look came to Sam’s face, and he looked at Avriel for answers.

Avriel sighed, ignoring Gabriel and answering Sam’s question, “Gabriel thinks that I am…romantically involved with the human I am the guardian of. Which I am not.” This was not a genuine statement. Sam had seen enough people say they weren’t in love to know whether they were lying or not. And most of the time, they were.

“He wants to be though,” Gabriel said to himself. Or at least, he meant to say to himself. Gabriel had a habit of accidentally being very loud. Sam rolled his eyes.

“Anyway,” said Avriel, steering the conversation away from his love life, “I should be going.”

“Well, it was nice meeting you, and if you are in love with…” Sam trailed off, realising he didn’t know Avriel’s human’s name.

“Mitch,” the angel said shortly.

“…Then good luck with that.” Sam finished.

“Thank you. Goodbye, Sam Winchester.” And Avriel stepped into the sandpit, said something in Enochian, and disappeared in a flash of white light.

“Portal to heaven,” Gabriel explained, regarding Sam’s shocked face with amusement.

“He’s going to heaven for a walk?” Sam raised an eyebrow.

“Angels have their own bits of heaven just like humans do. Avriel’s is a forest.”

“Why a forest?”

“He likes trees more than people. He’s weird like that.”

Sam looked bemused. He decided to change the subject. “Did you call him a cockblock earlier?”

“I did nothing of the sort,” said Gabriel, looking very affronted and very guilty. “Are you trying to get into my pants, Sam Winchester?”

Sam laughed out loud. “If anything, you’re trying to get into my pants, bringing me to an abandoned park for no real reason.”  
Gabriel laughed too then. “I brought you here so you could apologise to me.”

“Apologise to you? You broke into my house!” Sam was pretending to look outraged.

“I didn’t break anything. I even made you a cake. And what do I get in return? Shouted at by your insane brother!” Gabriel had a very dramatic expression on his face, but there was laughter in his eyes.

“Speaking of my brother, I should probably get back.” Gabriel’s face fell at Sam’s words. “I told him I’d gone out for granola bars,” Sam explained apologetically.

“Oh well, nice talking to you.” Gabriel looked genuinely upset, a look Sam had never seen on the archangel’s face.

“Yeah, you too. Bye.”

“Bye, Sam.”

And Sam walked back to the car, where he sat for some time wondering why he felt butterflies in his stomach over an archangel with a ridiculously eccentric personality.

 

  
-  
 

 

Avriel mooched among the trees for some time. Every tree in his heaven was around 40 feet tall. He liked the feeling of being surrounded. Nature was brilliant, he thought. Avriel had never met God, his father, himself, but the fact that he was created by the same being that created nature often brought him happiness.

Of course, he was also created by the same being that created his brother Gabriel, so that ruined his illusion pretty quick.

The archangel appeared next to him in a flash, an ever-so-sweet smile on his face. “You didn’t answer my question earlier,” he said by way of greeting.

“No, I have not had a fight with Mitch,” Avriel really did not want to have this conversation.

“Why do you need a walk, then? Not blown up enough amplifiers recently?” Avriel had never been violent, in heaven or on earth, but he was having to make some serious efforts not to punch his brother.

Well, Avriel thought. I’m a terrible liar anyway. Might as well come out and say it. “I told Kevin what I am.”

They walked on for another two minutes, Gabriel in stunned silence. “You what?!” he burst out.

“I told Kevin I’m an angel. I know I shouldn’t have done it, and that I’m probably in a lot of danger now, but I was going insane. I hate having to lie to them all, and I don’t age, Gabriel – they’d think something was up one day!”

“Is it just Kevin that knows?”

“Yes, but I guess I’ll have to tell the others now.”

“You’re not telling anyone else,” Gabriel said, urgency in his voice and warning in his eyes. “You can’t. It’s not safe.”

“I highly doubt any of my best friends are going to turn me over to demons,” Avriel replied, trying to convince himself even more than his brother. “I highly doubt any of my best friends know what demons are.”

Gabriel sighed. “Sorry, I guess I’m just paranoid.”

Avriel could sense something was wrong. Gabriel joked and hardly ever said anything serious and certainly never showed his emotions on his face, but Avriel had known his brother since the literal beginning of time, and he knew when something wasn’t right. “What happened, Gabe?” he asked, his voice soft.

“I’ve been to hell,” Gabriel said, barely audible. “I saw Lucifer there. You know when he fell, they changed the passwords to all the portals? Well, he was trying to get the new passwords from me. He wants back in, and he wants to take his demons with him.”

Avriel was stunned. “Did they hurt you?” he choked out.

“Little bit,” Gabriel said, in a voice that indicated it was not a little bit by any means. “I’ve healed up now.”

“Good,” Avriel replied, sounding distant. His brain was still struggling to form coherent sentences. “Have you told Castiel about this?”

“I don’t trust him not to get the Winchesters involved,” Gabriel sighed, and Avriel knew he was thinking of Sam. The angel had a brief suspicion that his archangel brother was not in any place to call him out for being in love with Mitch, but didn’t press it. It wasn’t the time.

The two stood in silence for a long time. “You should probably get back to your human,” Gabriel said eventually.

“Yeah, I should,” Avriel nodded. “Take it easy, Gabriel.” And he disappeared.

“Yeah,” said Gabriel to the empty forest. “I will.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last two chapters have been very sabriel-centric, I promise to make up for the lack of mavi/destiel in the upcoming chapters! As usual, comments are appreciated and my tumblr is @aspiringauthoranna if you want to talk to me!


	9. Where Troubles Melt Like Lemon Drops

Avi got home to find that Mitch was still asleep. He hadn’t been out long, he supposed. He smiled to himself at the sight of Mitch, curled up on their sofa in the foetal position, breathing heavily. He knew he should wake his human up, Mitch wouldn’t sleep tonight otherwise. But he couldn’t seem to draw his eyes away from the sleeping figure.

‘A couple more minutes won’t hurt’, he told himself.

‘You’re a literal creep’, his brain supplied.

Avi sighed, and bent down to gently shake Mitch awake. The man groaned, stretched, and opened his eyes. “How long was I out?” he asked Avi sleepily.

“About two hours?” Avi guessed, smiling down at Mitch.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“You looked like you needed the rest,” Avi lied. Well, it wasn’t a lie, per say, it was more of a reason-that-was-not-the-main-reason-because-the-main-one-is-weird. “I went out for a walk to give you a bit of quiet.”

“You’re sweet,” Mitch smiled and closed his eyes, and Avi felt an overwhelming urge to kiss him on the forehead. Flushing, the angel stepped back before his body started doing things of its own accord. “What’s the time?” Mitch asked suddenly.

“Um…” Avi checked his phone. “1:38. Why?”

“Wanna grab a late lunch with me?” Food sounded like a great idea to Avi. He’d gotten accustomed to eating properly over the years, despite not needing to eat. Humans, he thought, had been exceptionally clever with food. They hadn’t been given a great deal to work with at the beginning of time, and as they’d spread out across the whole earth, they had discovered more things and ways of mixing them together. It was an art, really, and humans did it every single day, multiple times a day.

“Absolutely,” Avi replied. Mitch gave an approving look, and stood up to get a jacket.

 

-

 

Sam Winchester returned to the bunker, granola bars and all, and was greeted by a raised eyebrow from Dean. Clearly, his older brother had woken up a bit since he’d been out.

“Bit of a long trip for Whole Foods,” Dean commented.

Over the years, Sam had learned that he couldn’t make a decent excuse to save his life. He decided to play dumb, and just shrugged. “Want one?” he asked, holding up the box of strawberry cereal bars.

Dean simply made a face, giving up on the interrogation since Sam was clearly fine. As long as his brother wasn’t physically hurt, he could deal with this later.

“Where’s Cas?” Sam asked. He regretted it the second it was out of his mouth. Dean scowled, and though his voice didn’t sound angry, Sam could tell exactly how he felt, and why he felt it. He and Cas had been arguing again.

“Went out,” Dean said shortly. “Heaven again.”

Briefly, Sam’s thoughts returned to the bearded angel who’d said he was a friend of Cas. Avriel had seemed good and honest, and Sam almost wanted to tell Dean about him so that he’d be reassured. But that would mean telling Dean where he’d been, and after that came out, Sam’s older brother wouldn’t listen to a word he had to say. Sam sighed, wishing he could help somehow. He wished Dean would talk to him more. Dean didn’t want to dump his problems on his little brother, but sometimes Sam wished he would. He wanted to be able to comfort Dean, to hold him up when he was down. They were a team; apart from Castiel, they only really had each other. They should be closer than they were.

Dean didn’t have the nature to be close with anyone.

Not even his own brother.

Or the angel he’d loved for nine years.

Sam could tell how each of them felt about each other. He was disbelieving at first – after all, Dean had only ever been interested in women. But all the signs were there – the looks when the other wasn’t looking, the lingering whenever they touched. The way they worried about each other to an extent beyond friendship. The way they tried so hard for the other’s approval. Sam had come close to approaching Dean about it more than once, but he knew his brother would deny anything he was accused of. Sam had eventually just decided to let the two of them get on with it themselves, but he was beginning to suspect they never would.

The thing was, Sam knew what Castiel would say, too. He was almost sure the angel would admit how he felt, at least, but the fact remained that he was an angel and Dean was a human. For one thing, it wasn’t allowed, and besides, Cas was going to be around forever. Dean was not.

Sam came out of his thoughts to see that Dean had left the room. Sam figured it was best to leave him be. The younger Winchester sighed, and opened the granola bars.

 

-

 

Avi’s day had taken a turn for the better. He and Mitch had gone to a coffee shop that was near their apartment. They’d been there before, and the place did really nice sandwiches. They’d had a sandwich each, Avi’s with a black coffee and Mitch’s with a ridiculously complicated drink. It had been fun – sometimes Avi forgot how much he enjoyed spending time with his human, how easy the conversation was, how well they complimented each other. It was embarrassing, how they got asked if they were a couple all the time, but Avi never blamed the people who did. It was clear to anyone that the two of them had a bond that was unlike any other.

“I didn’t tell you how beautifully you sang the other day,” Mitch was saying, “It’s nice, hearing you sing.”

Avi smiled and shrugged. “It’s a beautiful song. I loved singing it.”

“I’m weirdly excited for this album,” Mitch looked thoughtful as he spoke. “Like, more than I have been for any of the other ones. I guess it’s because of the songs; it kind of feels more mature, in a way. Do you know what I mean?”

“Yeah, I get it,” Avi nodded. “Because most of them are quite complicated, too. Especially Bohemian Rhapsody, that was a lot of work. It shows how we’ve grown and got better as a band.”

“Exactly!” Mitch exclaimed. “It feels like we’re really showing people what we’re capable of.”

They sat in comfortable silence for a moment until Avi stood up. “We should get going,” he said, and Mitch nodded in agreement. They paid, and began the walk home.

They didn’t speak much on the way home, content in their current state. Both seemed lost in their own thoughts, not paying a great deal of attention to what was going on around them. So, it was completely forgivable that when Mitch decided to lace his fingers through Avi’s, the shorter man didn’t particularly comprehend what the action was. It felt natural, and right, so who was he to question it properly? And, being the awkward man that he was, when he finally did realise what was happening, he didn’t think to let go of Mitch’s hand. After all, they’d been holding hands for at least five minutes now and it would look strange if Avi suddenly broke that for no reason. He worried the rest of the way home what it might result in, but when Mitch finally let go so he could unlock the door to their apartment, Avi only felt loss.

Neither of them said a word about it when they got in. Avi felt slightly shameful, looking down at his feet as he leaned against the kitchen counter. His brain kept screaming ‘wrong, wrong wrong,’ at him, and yet there he was, feeling tingly at the thought of Mitch holding his hand.

Gabriel was right. He was becoming like a human.

For a minute, Avi didn’t care. For a minute, his only thought was ‘Who cares, humans falling in love is a beautiful thing, and I want that’. For a minute, Avi didn’t think about what it would mean if he didn’t move when Mitch leaned in. For a minute, all he could register was Mitch’s lips on his, and how amazing and right it felt.

And then, that minute was over, and Avi pulled away. Mitch gave him a confused look, and Avi’s heart sank as he said, “I’m so sorry, I can’t.”

He stepped away from Mitch, whose expression was a mixture of the confusion that had been there before, and hurt, too. “Avi, let’s just talk…”

“I just can’t, I’m sorry,” Avi wanted to cry as he walked back towards the door. He had never cried before.

Avi shut the door behind him as he left, but that didn’t block out the sound of Mitch slumping to the floor and letting out a sob.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am very sorry. As usual, please comment and come talk to me on tumblr @aspiringauthoranna


	10. I’ll Be Coming For Your Love, Okay?

Avi’s phone was blowing up by the time he got to the playground. He knew Scott and Kirstie would be the first people Mitch went to, and Kevin would know not long afterwards. Feeling a weight on his heart, he glanced down at his phone.

From: Scott     
23 minutes ago  
 _Are you okay? That was a bit of a dick move you pulled on Mitch._

Avi subconsciously nodded, knowing it was true. He didn’t want to look at his other notifications, didn’t want to see how much his friends must hate him now. He couldn’t help himself.

From: Kirstie  
21 minutes ago  
 _Dude, what’s up?_

From: Kirstie  
21 minutes ago  
 _You’re not like that_

Avi shut his eyes, willing the tears away. Kirstie was like his little sister; what Avi had done was so bad that she wasn’t even angry, just confused. And then, of course, there was Kevin.

From: Kevin  
17 minutes ago  
 _Is this about what you are?_

From: Kevin  
17 minutes ago  
 _I don’t know what the rules are, but I can see what’s best for Mitch now_

From: Kevin  
16 minutes ago  
 _He loves you. You love him. Come home._

_Home._

Avriel knew where his home was, should have known from the very beginning. Angels shouldn’t leave heaven, he’d been told that enough times. They could do their jobs perfectly well from up there, and it came without the emotional baggage of humans. He supposed it wouldn’t matter now, if he went back. It wouldn’t matter that there was no old sofa there, and no Mitch asleep on it, laid out like a cat. It wouldn’t matter that there was no view of the city at night, no purple sunsets or pink sunrises. He’d have his forest, his tranquillity, and he wouldn’t be able to hurt anybody.  
His phone vibrated again. And he looked down to see another message.

From: Kirstie  
Just now  
 _We’re all here for you._

There was no phone reception in heaven.

Avriel took a deep breath, and began to walk confidently towards the portal.

Right before he was tackled to the ground.

  
   
-  
 

  
Castiel had been out all day, and Dean was getting increasingly agitated, to the point where it was affecting Sam just as badly. Dean was doing what he always did when he was annoyed or bored – use Sam’s laptop to try and find a case, and yell at the machine when he couldn’t find anything of interest. The lack of something to do would get on Dean’s nerves, and Dean’s anger would get on Sam’s nerves, and the two would generally end up arguing until Castiel returned. It was funny, Sam thought. How Dean thought the whole guardian angel thing was all a bunch of crap, yet didn’t notice how when Castiel was there he was instantly calmer, had a clearer head.

Well, Sam thought. Dean didn’t appear to have noticed he was in love with the angel, so maybe noticing a calming influence was beyond him.

Right as Sam had that thought, Dean, out of the blue, decided to say, “You were with that trickster today, weren’t you?”

Sam wanted to deny it, but he could tell from his older brother’s face that there was no use in it. “Why does it matter?” he asked instead.

“Because I don’t trust him, and neither should you!” Sam should have walked out of the room before this could happen. Dean was now looking to pick fights, and Sam was the only one in the house besides his older brother.

Sometimes, Sam missed having Crowley tied up in their cellar.  
“Am I supposed to think the same as you about everything? I’m my own person, Dean!”

Sam knew he was an idiot for getting caught up in Dean’s bad mood, but he now felt weirdly protective of Gabriel. Ironic that Gabriel was supposed to be the one protecting him.

Dean opened his mouth to yell something back at his younger brother, but Sam wasn’t finished, “He’s my guardian angel; he’s exactly what Cas is to you!”

“He is nothing like Cas-“

“You don’t even know him-“

“Why are you so defensive of him? You’ve only spent like an hour and a half with him total, you don’t know anything about him!”

“I know a lot more about him than you do!”

“Well he sure must have told you a lot to make you apparently forget that he killed me a hundred times!”

Sam had no idea what to say to that, because the fact remained. Gabriel had killed his older brother in a hundred different, horrific ways. The younger Winchester was never more thankful for anything in his life than when Castiel walked through the door at that very moment, looking incredibly rough. The angel’s hair was a mess, and he looked dirty and dishevelled.

“What happened to you?” Dean asked, voice suddenly soft and full of concern.

“It’s a long story,” Castiel replied. Much to everyone’s surprise, the angel had a smile on his face.  
 

  
-  
 

  
Avriel coughed and spluttered as he fell, mostly from shock. He was never the fighting kind – the most experience he had was fake-wrestling with Kevin, and he hadn’t had to defend himself from much then. His relief was immense as he opened his eyes to see Castiel’s face above his own.

“Nice one, Cas!” Came an all-too-familiar voice. Gabriel suddenly appeared and looked down at his brothers on the ground.

Castiel rolled his eyes.

“What the hell?” Avriel asked, still breathless.

“You can’t leave them!” Gabriel said with new urgency, adding even more questions to the list Avriel was making in his mind.

“Okay, I have no idea how you know about that, but we need to talk. All three of us. First things first, get off me,” Avriel instructed. Castiel sighed and did as he was told. “Second, how on earth did you two know I was planning to leave?”

“Two things,” Castiel began. “One, I’ve been there before. When you think that you’re better off away from people but you’re actually making a huge mistake. You looked like I have every time I walked away.”

“And the other thing?”

Gabriel shifted on his feet, looking slightly awkward and very guilty. “I may or may not have contacted your beatboxing friend after you told me he knew what you were.”

Avriel gave an exasperated noise. “What do you mean by contacted?” He asked suspiciously. He was now incredibly afraid that Kevin had been violated.

“I didn’t hurt him that much-“

“‘That much’”

“I just needed to make sure he’d keep quiet, that’s all. That he wouldn’t tell anyone and put you in danger!”

“We will discuss this later. And he was how you knew I was going to leave? How did he get through to you so quickly?”

“There’s this really amazing human invention you’ve probably never heard of, it’s called a phone-“ Gabriel was cut off when Avriel punched him. “What was that for?” Gabriel asked, looking a lot more hurt than he actually felt.

Castiel smirked.

“So many things. What did he say to you?”

Gabriel handed Avriel his phone.

From: Mouth machine  
20 minutes ago  
 _I think Avi’s going to do something._

From: Mouth machine  
20 minutes ago  
 _He kissed Mitch and walked out, he’s really upset._

Avriel, so touched by his brothers’ concern for him, and the lengths they went to to protect him and make him happy, as well as his best friend knowing what was best for him and trying to do the right thing, could only think of one thing to say.

“Mouth machine?”

 

-

 

Avi was nervous as he began the walk back to his and Mitch’s apartment. He’d dealt with nerves before, but this could go very drastically. Scott and Kirstie were very defensive of Mitch; they were all defensive of each other, had been since high school, and if Mitch wasn’t prepared to forgive him, then he’d have to face anger and rejection from three people instead of one. He wasn’t even sure about Kevin’s loyalty - he expected the man would want to stay out of it. Ever the peacemaker, Kevin hated any sort of conflict. Avi felt bad for the pain he must be going through now.

Briefly, Avi’s mind went to why Castiel and Gabriel had pushed him to do this. Gabriel had certainly never been one for much contact with humans until recently, and Castiel, despite being able to admit his love for Dean, had never acted upon his feelings, or even said anything to the elder Winchester. Then, Avi realised something. Maybe he had to be the first. Castiel was a lot of things, but Avi was pretty sure that the only thing Castiel was the first to do was use the word “assbutt”. His brother just needed that confidence that it could work.

Avi smiled to himself then. If he could start a chain reaction of confessions of love, this would absolutely be worth it.

_Please,_ he willed. _Please, Mitch, try to love me still._

He willed it all the way home, all the way up the stairs and to his front door. He willed it as he knocked nervously, three times like he always did. He heard a gasp from inside - Mitch - and his nerves began to set in again as Scott opened the door.

“You’ve got a lot of explaining to do, buddy.” The blond man sighed, stepping aside to let Avi in.

The angel almost didn’t want to look at Mitch, didn’t want to see the pain he himself had caused. Weak as he was, Avi couldn’t keep his eyes off his human for long. Mitch’s face was stained with tears - there was a pang in Avi’s heart at that one - but there was new hope in his eyes, and the angel realised that _he still loves me._

“Avi...”

“No, please, don’t say anything. I have been a complete and utter dick. There’s no excuse for what I did, and I don’t expect your forgiveness. I wouldn’t be surprised if you decided to hate me from here on in. But the thing is, I’ve loved you for six years, and even though I don’t deserve it, it would mean the whole world to me if you gave me another chance.”

The whole room stood in silence, stunned. Avi was shocked at himself. Mitch, silently, stood up and began to cross the room, stopping when he was in front of Avi. The angel held his breath.

“Avi Kaplan,” Mitch began.

“Yes?”

“You are an idiot with out-of-control emotions who makes decisions no one can explain and doesn’t tell his friends where he’s going and is weird in so many other ways that would be too difficult for me to even try to describe.”

“That’s me,” Avi whispered with a small smile.

“But you’re my idiot, and I love you too, and I would be willing to put up with all of your weirdness on one condition.”

Avi’s heart swelled and he moved closer to Mitch, wrapping his arms around the taller man’s waist. “And what would that be?”

“Please never stop kissing me ever again.”

Avi grinned from ear to ear. “Noted.”

He kissed Mitch then and there, long and hard and full of emotion, as much apology as could be contained in one kiss. It was the same feeling again, of belonging and _right_. And again, they stopped kissing, but this time, it was with laughter. Their three amazing, stupid band mates had begun making vomit noises.

And then a new feeling came in. Well, not so much a feeling, but a sense, a state. The only word rushing through Avi’s head at this moment was _perfect_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long with this chapter - it’s one that required a lot of thought and I’ve been incredibly busy with school. Hope you enjoyed regardless!


	11. Slowly Learning Life Is Okay

“So,” Dean began, more confused than he had ever felt in his life. “Would you like to tell me why you’ve come in looking like a wreck and yet you’re laughing like a maniac?”

“Calm down, mom,” muttered Sam. Dean gave him a look.

“This is going to sound completely insane,” Castiel replied, still giggling, “but I had to stop my brother from running away from the man he loves.”

Dean had to take a moment to process that. That sentence, coming from Castiel, of all people, did not make the slightest bit of sense. Sam started awkwardly laughing too, now, the ridiculousness of the previous statement affecting him in a very different way to his elder brother.

“What?” was all Dean could muster up.

“I had to stop my brother from running away from the man he loves,” repeated Castiel. Dean probably would have punched the angel by now if he hadn’t got the most stupidly adorable grin on his face.

“Okay, I’m going to have to ask you to break that sentence down,” Dean sighed. “First things first, brother?”

Suddenly, Cas was the one looking puzzled. “You know all angels are my brothers and sisters, Dean.”

“Yeah, whatever, I mean which brother?” Dean asked.

“His name is Avriel.” Sam jumped at the name, and Castiel turned to him. “I believe you’ve met him, Sam.”

“Yeah, just today. What’s happened, is he alright?” Sam’s voice was full of concern, and Dean just kept wondering what the hell was going on.

“He’s fine now, he’s been in…emotional turmoil.” Castiel said decisively.

“For how long?” Sam asked.

“Seven years,” Castiel replied with a very serious expression on his face, before bursting into fits of giggles again. Dean rolled his eyes.

“So, what, you managed to sort out seven years of emotional turmoil in one night by…getting into a fight?” Dean asked, bewildered.

It had seemed impossible beforehand, but Cas proceeded to laugh even harder. The angel could only nod, and Dean had to admit that it did sound hilarious when it was put that way. Much calmer now, the elder Winchester asked Castiel to, “please explain.”

Cas managed to compose himself and began to tell the story. “So Avriel is a guardian, just like I am,” he began. “He’s been in love with his human, Mitchell Grassi, since they first met in person. Obviously, that’s a problem, because Avriel is an angel and Mitchell is a human.”

“But if they’re two guys, then they can’t make a Nephilim, so what’s wrong with it?” Dean asked, and Sam suspected that this question meant more to his brother than he was letting on.

“It’s more the emotional pain that the two of them would have to go through, what with Avriel never dying and never aging. It would be painful for both of them in the long run. But no matter how many times Avriel told himself that, he couldn’t stop having feelings. Mitch was in love with him too, and he knew it, which only made things worse. Anyway, it all kind of heated up today when they kissed, and Avriel freaked out, and was about to go back to heaven permanently. Thanks to a certain archangel,” Castiel eyed Sam at this point, “We knew and could stop him from going. He’s gone back home and apologised, and I assume they’re…together now.” Cas looked slightly wistful, and Dean cleared his throat.

“Okay, but that still doesn’t explain the state you’re in,” Dean pointed out.

“Oh yeah,” Cas smiled. “I had to tackle my brother to the ground to stop him.”

Sam and Dean shared looks of confused horror and Castiel looked sheepish. “Gabriel wouldn’t do it,” the angel mumbled.

The Winchester brothers burst into laughter.  
 

  
-  
 

  
Avi called Kevin at half past six the next morning. Mitch was still fast asleep, and Avi seriously needed somebody to talk to that knew what he was. He really should have called Castiel, but he didn’t want to disturb his brother after all he’s done for him already. Kevin, he knew, would be on his way to the gym right about now, and wouldn’t be annoyed by a call from Avi. Hopefully.

“Hello?” Kevin answered. He sounded cheery enough. “You’re up early.”

“Angels don’t sleep, Kevin,” Avi explained, and laughed at Kevin’s amused noise from through the phone.

“Learn something new every day. What do you want at six thirty, anyway?”

“I’m worried about telling Mitch what I am.”

“Do you have to?”

“I mean, I could leave it for a couple of years, but one day he’ll notice I’m not aging.”

Kevin decided to ignore this second new fact of the day. He’d given up on understanding angels the minute his best friend had said he was one. “Okay, okay. Situation I’ve never dealt with before. He’s going to think you’re insane.”

“I know that. You did.”

“Mitch isn’t even religious, though. At least I kind of believed in angels before you told me. This is going to be like telling him you’re a unicorn.”

Avi laughed. “Are you having this conversation outside?”

“Nope, still in my apartment. I was just about to leave for the gym before you called. Figured you might say some crazy stuff so I stayed inside.”

“Crazy stuff, huh? That’s blasphemy, Kevin.”

“Smite me, I dare you.” Avi could hear his best friend’s grin.

“Anyway, how am I going to say this?”

“Maybe start talking about why you put off asking him out for so long and then go from there? It’s not exactly a conventional thing to come out as, but you can prove it to him like you proved it to me,” Kevin stopped to muse. “Alternatively, you could have one of your insane friends break into your apartment and tell him for you. Did I mention I got interrogated yesterday morning?”

“I heard about that. I’m sorry about Gabriel, he’s a little-“

“Hold up, the angel Gabriel broke into my apartment?”

“Uh, yes.”

“I’m going to have to call you back.” And the line went dead.

Avi grinned in spite of himself. He had no solution to his problem, still, but at least he felt a little happier than he had before.  
 

  
-  
 

  
Dean grinned at Cas from across the table. They’d stayed up late and fallen asleep there, waking up to headaches and more hysterical laughter. They returned to the same conversation they’d been having before, as if eight hours hadn’t passed.

“So I finally know the name of the angel who keeps dragging you upstairs,” Dean said, very deliberately fiddling with his angel blade. Cas gave him a warning look.

“I’m very flattered that you want me around that much, but don’t you dare.” Both men found themselves blushing at that.

“Ugh, why did I let myself fall asleep at the table again?” Dean asked, changing the subject. “My neck hurts like hell.”

“Want an aspirin?” Asked Sam, walking into the room looking annoyingly cheery as usual. Of course Dean’s stupid nerdy little brother had took himself to bed before he passed out.

“Yes please,” groaned the arguably more stupid elder brother.

“Seriously, Dean,” Castiel continued from their previous conversation. “You’d like Avriel.”

“I don’t believe I’d like any angel until they’d proved to me several times over that they’re trustworthy,” Dean said stubbornly. “I’ve been screwed over too many times. We’ve been screwed over too many times.”

“Well, you’ll have your proof soon,” Castiel replied smartly. “Because you’re going to meet him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr: aspiringauthoranna  
> Comments are appreciated as ever


	12. Only Fools Rush In

Avi couldn’t help smiling as he sang, right at the end of the line he and his band mates were standing in. They were trying to come up with new choreography for their upcoming tour. Avi usually enjoyed this part anyway - it was a good laugh while they attempted dance moves none of them could do - but being able to do this with Mitch as his boyfriend was even better. His boyfriend. Avi wasn’t quite used to that, but in the best way possible. It had gotten to the point where Avi and Mitch had begun referring to each other as “my boyfriend” so often that the band had put a ban on the word. “We get it!” Kirstie had exclaimed, to the shock of both Avi and Mitch. “We’re all really happy for you but stop!” This had led to awkward laughter from everyone and nods of agreement from Scott and Kevin. The new couple had, albeit reluctantly, stopped.

The lack of being able to say it hadn’t brought down the high Avi was on, however. He didn’t realise that letting go of six years of repression and guilt would feel this good. It sounded ridiculous to him now that he thought about it, the way his old self used to think. Sometimes that old self came back, the little voice that would nag in the back of his brain whispering to him that he was cruel and selfish, that if he loved Mitch he’d be trying to make sure he was happy in the long term, instead of acting on the heat of the moment and hurting Mitch in the long run. Avi had, at one point, confessed to Mitch that he was scared of hurting him, without giving too much detail. Mitch had responded that Avi could never hurt him if he tried, and Avi had tried so hard to believe it. Mitch was so understanding and so kind, and Avi sometimes hated that he couldn’t have a normal secret, that what he was hiding from Mitch was so outlandish to most people that they’d rather think he was crazy than even comprehend it.

“Um, hello? Earth to Avi!” Avi snapped out of his thoughts and realised that all his band mates had moved from their dancing positions except him, and that Mitch was standing in front of him, smiling and waving at his face. Avi smiled, unable to help it when looking at Mitch, and laughed sheepishly.

“Sorry, concentrating hard,” he apologised. Mitch kissed him on the nose by way of forgiveness, ignoring the vomiting sounds Scott and Kirstie were making.

“You’re so immature,” Mitch commented, play-punching Scott as he made his way over to where his friends were standing.

Scott opened his mouth to reply, before Kevin intervened. “Come on now, I’m not in the mood to listen to you two have another stupid argument. We’ve got dancing to do!”

“I’ll argue with him whenever I want, Mr Lead-By-Example. You’re no fun!” But Scott was grinning despite the insults. Avi suddenly felt a wave of happiness, a realisation out of nowhere that he was so content, that this was where he wanted to be, and these were the people he wanted to be with, for the rest of his life. He let the wave of contentedness set in, thinking that it must be impossible for anything to make him sad or worried at this moment.

Until, of course, Castiel flashed in, the Winchesters in tow.

 

-

 

Gabriel sat in his heaven, sucking on a lollipop. It wasn’t a rare occurrence, but it wasn’t usually accompanied by this much thinking. Gabriel wasn’t someone who thought often – he did things as he pleased and returned each night to his chaise lounge in the middle of his sweet shop. But recently, it just felt like things were piling up in his brain.

Of course he was happy for Avriel and Mitch. It was inevitable really. Neither of the two had enough self-control to last for the rest of their friendship without confessing their undying love. Honestly, Gabriel was surprised they’d managed six years. The thing was, Gabriel was worried about Avriel. About the fate of him and Mitch, yes, but also because he would be going on tour soon and it would be incredibly easy to know where he was. Gabriel almost never came to the same place twice – he was far too exciting for that – and Castiel was the safest one of them all in that bunker. But Avirel would be performing in front of, and meeting with, thousands of people every single night. All it would take was a “Hey, Avi, can I have your autograph?” and his brother would be right in some demon’s trap. Gabriel could only hope Avriel wouldn’t stray too far from his bandmates.

The other man taking up space in Gabriel’s mind, albeit in a very different fashion, was Sam Winchester. What could Gabriel say? The younger Winchester was gorgeous, and Avriel had… inspired him a little. Gabriel wouldn’t be as sad and desperate about it, though. He’d be suave and charming. What did Sam like? What was his favourite flower? Gabriel made a mental note to send Castiel in as his spy.

Hey, Gabriel thought. Slow down, brain. Mitch Grassi could be spared, but did Gabriel really want to put Sam Winchester off his top form by getting him into a confusing relationship with an angel that ultimately wouldn’t work out? Gabriel suddenly felt very small. Better get used to that if you’re going to date Sam Winchester, his brain supplied.

Very funny, brain.

 

-

 

Mitch was the first to scream.

Kirstie followed suit, while Scott stepped forward and held himself slightly higher, as if trying to look intimidating. Kevin stared, bewildered, at Avi, who, in despite of his shock and concern, began to laugh hysterically.

“Avi?” Mitch cried incredulously. Avi hated himself for it, but that only made him laugh harder. Letting go of six years of supressed emotions had been a little too good for him – his worst nightmare had come true, and he was laughing. He looked at Castiel, who was smiling awkwardly, and behind him at Sam and Dean, who were looking very uncomfortable.

When Avi finally calmed down, he was hit with a flood of questions.

“What’s going on?”

“Do you know them?”

“How did they get in here?”

“Am I dreaming?”

And finally, from Kevin, “Avi, can you please explain at least one thing before we all go insane?”

Time to lose the best friends I’ve ever had, Avi thought as he took a deep breath and opened his mouth to speak. “Everyone, this is my brother, Cas,” He said, gesturing to the trench-coated angel. Mitch’s eyes went wide.

“That’s Cas? I was wondering who all those phone calls were from. I thought you were having an affair, fucking hell…”

“And this is Sam and Dean Winchester, they’re um, family friends,” Avi continued. Upon looking at Sam and Dean, he noticed that Sam was actually taller than Scott. Once he’d convinced his friends he wasn’t crazy, they were going to have so much fun with that. The others couldn’t do much more than nod.

“I’m, uh, very sorry for bursting in on you all,” Castiel began. “In my defence, I wasn’t sure which room you’d be in.”

“Okay,” interrupted Kirstie. “I’m sure you’re all very nice, considering you’re friends of Avi’s and everything, but am I the only one who saw that they fucking teleported in here?”

Avi sighed. “I can do it, too,” he confessed. Now all confused looks were directed at him.

“It’s true,” Kevin supplied. “I’ve seen it.”

“I’m terrified to ask this,” said Mitch, looking very pale and sounding very small, “But how?”

“I’m…” Avi paused, and Castiel interjected.

“My brother and I are angels of the Lord,” Cas said, almost nonchalantly. Sometimes Avriel was thankful for his brother’s lack of social skills.

“Angels?” Scott asked. “They’re real? I mean, no offence…” He trailed off.

“Uh, yes,” Avi smiled sheepishly. At least no one had fainted. Yet.

“Sorry, I can’t believe this,” Mitch had slumped down against the wall.

“I don’t expect you to take it in this quickly, Mitchy-“ Avi started, but Mitch was shaking his head.

“No, I just… my boyfriend is an angel. An angel. With a halo and wings and shit.” Mitch paused. “Do you have wings?”

“Yes, I do. I can’t show them to you, though.”

“Why?”

“My brother’s true form would melt every one of your eyes.” Castiel supplied.

“You’re being really helpful this afternoon, aren’t you?” Avi said sarcastically.

“So, are you two angels as well?” Kirstie asked, looking between Sam and Dean.

“Uh, no, we’re hunters.” Sam sounded cautious even as he said it. He wasn’t sure how much else these people could handle.

“Hunters?”

“Ghosts, vampires, demons, you name it,” Dean spoke up, and the others were horrified about how casual he sounded.

“I’m going to need a lie down,” said Kirstie after a long pause.

“I second that,” mumbled Mitch from the floor.

“I third that,” said Scott.

Avi smiled weakly. This was going to be a long afternoon.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Message me to bitch about Microsoft word @aspiringauthoranna


	13. Some Things Are Meant To Be

Several hours later, Pentatonix had wasted a whole day of rehearsals and the Winchesters had been exposed to quite a few new things. However, Mitch seemed much better at the end of the day, and they had all just about wrapped their heads around the existence of the supernatural. Sometimes, Sam and Dean were thankful for the existence of The X Files.

Sam, Dean, and Cas had all been surprisingly patient, and had answered every question the band members asked. It was the first time they had had to explain monsters to someone who wasn’t at that very minute in danger of being killed by one. It had been strange, slightly awkward, and occasionally tedious, but they had managed.

In turn, of course, Pentatonix had shown them some things. Dean, for one, had never come across a cappella music, and had a stunned expression on his face through the entire first song they’d performed. The only thing he could think to say was, “Do you guys know any AC/DC?” Castiel was equally impressed, and had whispered in very worried tones, “Dean. That man has a machine in his mouth,” which only served to make Kevin laugh very hard.

Which was, of course, Gabriel’s cue. “Robot voice, what’s up?” Kevin looked scared, Sam blushed, Dean scowled, and Avi and Castiel looked utterly mortified. The others looked like they weren’t sure if they could take any more of this.

“THE angel Gabriel?” was of course everyone’s reaction to the archangel introducing himself.

“Yep,” he’d replied proudly. “That bitch on the wall of every church? I told his mom about him.”

“Please do not call Jesus a bitch,” came Castiel’s somber, tired voice.

The sheer ridiculousness of that sentence and its context led everyone to the agreement that, after many laughs, stories, and odd facts shared, it was time to call it a day. Gabriel, Cas and the Winchesters left via a door this time around, Gabriel sidling up quite close to Sam, very obviously flirting with him. “Are they together?” Kirstie had asked, indicating the two with a shake of her head.

“No, but if Gabriel gets his way, and he often does, they will be very soon.” Avi smiled to himself. If Gabriel had his way, he and Sam would probably be married before the week was out.

“Are Castiel and Dean?” Mitch piped up. “They look like a couple.”

“Alas, Castiel and Dean are doomed to remain in love with each other forever without saying anything.”

“What do you mean?”

“Neither of them have said anything to the other despite having mutual feelings of attraction for nine years.”

“But why would they do that if they know it’s mutual?” Avi almost didn’t answer Mitch’s question.

“They’re afraid their differences will lead them to just be heartbroken.”

“They have, like, the exact same personality.”

Avi sighed. “It’s because Cas is an angel and Dean is a human.” Mitch stopped asking questions after that. He didn’t want to know.

Avi and Mitch walked home in mostly silence. They held hands as they always did, but neither of them had much to say. Until they got home, and Mitch timidly asked, “Why did you choose to date me if it’s just going to end in us getting hurt?”

Avi shook his head, wrapped his arms around Mitch’s waist and looked into his eyes. “Two things, and I want you to listen to them very carefully. One: we are not inevitably going to get hurt. Cas and Dean do a much more dangerous job than we do, and neither of them wants to have a taste of loving the other in case they get killed by a demon a week later.” Mitch shuddered, and Avi pulled him closer. “Two: it’s because I’ve never loved anyone else, and I can’t ever imagine myself loving anybody else. I know it sounds cheesy, but you’re my one and only.”

Mitch pulled Avi in for a long, loving kiss, expressing all the emotions he couldn’t put into words. They broke apart, and Mitch had a very different question on his lips.

“Are you a virgin?” He asked, and Avi blushed with surprise and embarrassment. He’d never even thought about that before. His breath hitched in apprehension.

“Um, yeah…” He trailed off, breaking eye contact with Mitch, who smiled, and, leaning down to catch Avi’s eye again, replied with something that sparked several different feelings and questions in Avi’s mind.

“We’ll have to change that then, won’t we?”  
 

 

-  
 

 

Dean and Castiel sat alone together at the table, each with a bottle of beer in one hand. They’d been sitting in silence, both having things to reflect on from the day’s experience. “I’m sorry,” Dean said suddenly, sounding very forced. Cas almost smiled at how hard it was for Dean to apologise.

“What for?” Cas asked.

“Assuming stuff and saying all that crap about angels, as if you were some magical exception. You…you proved me wrong today, Cas.”

“It’s okay, Dean. I knew why you felt the way you did.”

Silence again. Quite a few of things Dean had believed had been proved wrong that day. One – that all angels were two-faced and evil. He’d enjoyed meeting Avriel and his bandmates after the initial shock. He and Avriel had managed to bond over their shared hatred of vegetables and Gabriel. Sam had rolled his eyes at the great majority of their conversation, but Dean hadn’t cared. Two – that the only good music in the world was classic rock. He still had “Can’t Help Falling In Love” stuck in his head now. And three – that a human and an angel couldn’t have a successful relationship. Admittedly, Mitch hadn’t known Avriel was an angel until today, but he’d seen them have a moment in the corner of the room when they thought no one was looking. They seemed to be working things out, accepting each other. They were staying together despite their differences. And yes, Dean did something much more dangerous than sing on a stage, and yes, everyone he’d ever loved had died, but this was different. He wouldn’t be dragging Castiel into his lifestyle. Cas was already there, and Cas had seen the worst, and Cas had stayed. The only difference would be how they acted around each other, and Dean was goddamn sick of this crippling awkwardness.

“They seem happy,” he stated, not knowing how else to begin this conversation.

“Who do?” Cas asked, taking a breath as if he knew what was coming but didn’t exactly want to believe it.

“Avriel and Mitch,” Dean said softly.

“Yeah, they are,” Cas said, and Dean realised that the angel was just as awkward and apprehensive as he was. He’d have to be the one to initiate this.

“Weren’t they scared about being together?”

“Avriel was. Mitch was naïve until today.”

“He seemed to accept him, though.” Dean pressed.

“They’ve loved each other since they met.” Here, Cas paused, biting his lip. “I guess they realised it was better to stop denying themselves because of fear.”

Dean hadn’t realised that he and Cas had been gradually moving closer to each other, as if drawn by some invisible force. His eyes met the angel’s, and staring into deep blue, knew it was his time, too. He inched ever so slightly forwards, and his lips met Castiel’s.

The first thing Dean noticed was the stubble. He’d never kissed another guy before, and Castiel’s facial hair caught him off-guard. The second thing he noticed was his own heartbeat, pulsing hard and fast in his chest. The third thing was Castiel, pulling him closer and kissing almost desperately, as if this was the last time they’d ever get to do this. The energy rubbed off on Dean, who tangled a hand in the angel’s hair, not ever wanting to let him go.

When they broke apart, it felt like they’d been taken out of the world and suddenly dropped back in. For a minute, it had just been the two of them, and now they were back, staring at each other, not knowing what to say. Dean could only grin like an idiot, and Cas grinned back, and Dean wanted to kiss him again.

Until, of course, Dean’s stupid, irritating little brother appeared in the doorway, and he was clapping. Dean glared at him, but it only made Castiel laugh more.

“Fucking finally,” Sam said, and a grin appeared on Dean’s face too.

 

  
-

 

  
Avi stared at the ceiling, listening to Mitch’s breathing as he slept. It wasn’t the first time they’d shared a bed, hell, they’d done that before they’d started dating. But it was different. They were...closer now. It was good.

Avi closed his eyes. He didn’t sleep, but he felt relaxed and content. He’d never done anything like that before. His vessel had vague memories of experiences with girls, but as far as Avi could see, had never gone “all the way” as Mitch called it. He’d enjoyed it. Mitch had said sex, but it didn’t feel like that. It felt like making love.

His boyfriend was asleep next to him now, looking happy and peaceful. It only reinforced what Avi was feeling right about now.

That everything was alright with the world.  
 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When you try to be productive with chapters but you have laptop problems.
> 
> Do leave comments!


	14. My Happiness Depends On You

Castiel couldn’t quite believe it every time he turned over in bed to see Dean there. He’d had fantasies like this, lived this moment a million times over in his mind, and yet he still wasn’t over the real thing. He was trying to be as still as possible – Dean was an anxious sleeper who’d be out of the bed with a gun in his hand if someone breathed too heavily in his direction. Dean needed sleep more than anything else. Especially in light of what had happened with Gabriel, Dean had been under a lot of stress. Cas was still worrying whether his actions had been selfish when Dean woke up.

Seeing the angel in the bed next to him made Dean start, making Cas wonder how long it had been since he’d shared a bed with anyone. Remembering what had happened last night, Dean laughed sleepily. “’S just you,” he mumbled, settling back down from his bolt upright position. Cas smiled awkwardly – God, they were like a couple of teenagers – and propped himself up on his elbow to meet Dean’s eye. “Well,” the elder Winchester said, a grin slowly spreading across his face.

“Well,” Castiel replied, and leaned in for a kiss before they were rudely interrupted. Gabriel was making gagging noises at the end of the bed. Dean, shocked, instinctively pulled up the duvet to cover his naked chest. Cas had to stifle a laugh at that one.

“Don’t get me wrong, Dean, you’re gorgeous, but I have my sights set firmly on your brother- “

“Oh shut up, dickwad, and tell me what you’re doing at the end of my bed.”

“Just a message for Cassie that Avriel wants us to meet him later.”

“And you couldn’t have said that over breakfast?”

“I was gonna, but you two weren’t up and Sammy was too busy cooking. I got bored.”

“Sometimes I wonder why on Earth Chuck entrusted you of all people to tell Mary about Jesus.”

“Don’t we all, Dean, don’t we all. Now hurry up and get dressed, Sammy’s making pancakes.”

If anything was going to get Dean out of bed, it was that.

Breakfast was the strangest thing Castiel had seen in a while. Dean and Gabriel sitting across from each other eating pancakes wasn’t exactly a common sight. Gabriel had a butter-wouldn’t-melt look on his face, and Dean’s face was the complete opposite. It was clear from this expression that this was a test of his love for his little brother.

“Is Avriel worried?” Cas asked Gabriel.

“Avriel’s always worried about something,” Gabriel replied through a mouthful of pancake covered in every sugary condiment imaginable. “He might just want advice about going on tour in a couple of months. Maybe he wants to ask if he can borrow Sam and Dean,” he said, looking between the two Winchesters.

“Don’t objectify me,” Dean muttered

“I’d miss you too much,” Sam said, batting his eyes at Gabriel in a very deliberate attempt to annoy Dean.

“I take back what I said about your taste in women being horrible,” Dean said, glaring at his brother. “Your taste in people in general is horrible, not just women.”

That comment, combined with the heavily exaggerated look of offence on Gabriel’s face, sent Sam and Cas into peals of laughter, which their elder siblings, albeit reluctantly, found themselves joining in.

 

-

 

Avriel smiled gratefully upon seeing his brothers walking towards him through the forest that was his heaven. “Hey, guys,” he greeted warmly.

“Hey,” Castiel said, and actually embraced Avriel, much to the other angel’s surprise.

“What was that for?” Avriel laughed, his voice sounding happy if a little confused.

“You and your boyfriend being sappy all day yesterday was the thing that finally prompted Dean to make a move after nine years,” Gabriel supplied, sounding bored. “He’s only grateful because he got laid.”

“Dean and I did not engage in sexual intercourse, if that’s what you’re implying,” Castiel rolled his eyes at Gabriel’s words, before turning to Avriel. “Thank you for giving me the courage to tell Dean how I felt.”

“He made the move on you.”

“You know what I mean.”

“No I don’t, Sam said you just sat there like a- “

“Anyway,” Avriel intervened, “I’ve been thinking a lot about going on tour.”

“What about it?” Castiel asked.

“I don’t really think I want to go,” Avriel sighed heavily. “I don’t want to risk exposing what I am, or getting hurt, or worrying Mitch. But I’ll disappoint everyone if I decide not to go, and it’ll look strange to the fans. I don’t know what to do.”

“I say go,” Gabriel said, to everyone’s surprise and confusion. Hadn’t Gabriel been the most concerned? “You’ll be surrounded by humans all the time, and you don’t exactly do a lot of suspicious activity, except that your voice is probably some sort of witchcraft. You won’t give off as strong of a vibe as me or Cas do, and you’re with people all the time. As long as you’re never alone, I think you’ll be okay.”

Avriel nodded slowly. He turned to Castiel. “What do you think?” he asked.

“Okay, ignore God’s messenger,” Gabriel muttered.

“I think Gabriel has a point, for once,” he said, receiving a scowl from the archangel in return. “Of course, if you want Sam, Dean and I to come with you, we’d be more than happy to. Dean in particular.”

“No, that would be the opposite of what we wanted,” Gabriel explained. “There are millions of demons with their eyes on you, Sam and Dean. If anything, Avriel would be less safe if you three went along.”

Avriel and Castiel slowly nodded, beginning to understand. “Thanks, guys,” Avriel said. “I was so worried about disappointing Mitch.”

“Yeah, Cas,” said Gabriel smugly. “I have good advice sometimes.”

“Yes you do, Gabriel,” Cas said reluctantly.

“I’m going to get back. I’ll see you later,” said Avriel, and vanished.

“Are you coming back to the bunker?” Castiel asked Gabriel.

“Yeah, come on,” Gabriel replied. The previous conversation had made him, dare he say it, jealous of his brothers. He’d been swayed by their point of view, and now he had a giant hunter boyfriend to acquire.

 

-

 

Sam was reading when Gabriel walked in to the room, with an expression on his face Sam had never seen before. Was he nervous? Sam would have laughed if he wasn’t sure it would a) look weird, and b) make Gabriel even worse than he already appeared to be. Sam had been attracted to the archangel upon first meeting him and spending the last few days with him had only served to intensify those feelings. The only problem was, Sam could never be quite sure of Gabriel’s feelings. He seemed to flirt with everyone, that was just his personality, and it was difficult to tell whether he actually meant it. He’d made some very flattering remarks recently and had even gone on to joke about marriage when Sam had cooked for him. And now, here he was, alone with Sam and looking very nervous.

“Hey,” Sam began, casually enough. They couldn’t both be anxious, after all.

“Hey,” Gabriel replied, unsure of what to say next. “What are you reading?”

“Researching heaven’s wards,” Sam answered. “Nothing you don’t know everything about already.”

“Well, I was there when they were made,” Gabriel said shortly. Gabriel not taking an opportunity to show off? He must be nervous.

“Are you okay?” Sam asked. He didn’t like this. He was the awkward one in this relationship, damnit.

Gabriel sighed. “Listen, Sam, with everything going on, I’ve realised something.”

“Yes?” Sam said hopefully.

“I’ve become…well, I’ve-”

“I don’t mean to be rude, but please just get on with it and ask me out.”

Gabriel’s face went through several different expressions in the space of about ten seconds. First offence, then confusion, then settled on a grin. Sam smiled back, and stood up from his chair to move closer to the archangel. They both leaned in, lips brushing briefly before Gabriel pulled away with a cry of pain.

Sam looked on in alarm before recognising what was going on. He’d seen Cas like this a couple of times and knew that it was painful – someone had just reached out through angel radio. What he wasn’t used to seeing was the pure terror on Gabriel’s face. The angel hadn’t recognised the voice or where it was coming from, but he had sure as hell heard the message.

_Help._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed!


	15. Don’t Take My Man

Avi had been dreading this moment since he'd got the call from Gabriel last night. Mitch had insisted they have an early night and watch a film in bed, and of course once Avi had finished talking to his brother, Mitch had fallen asleep and missed half of Moana. Avi was almost glad - there was no way he could have explained to Mitch what was going on then and there. It had been nearly nine hours and he still wasn't sure how to begin.

He'd walked into their kitchen area and was pacing, trying to clear his head so that he'd be able to talk coherently to his boyfriend for five minutes. He didn't know how to say it. How do you tell someone "hey, you know how you only just got used to the concept of me being an angel? Well, that now means I have to go and fight a war because demons are invading heaven and my brothers and sisters are dying"?

Avi jumped as he felt arms wrap around him from behind. Mitch let out a sleepy giggle and Avi have a sigh of relief. "Did I scare you?" Mitch asked, and Avi could hear the smile in his voice. _Not as much as I'm about to scare you_ , his brain supplied. And then, _please don't stop loving me_. That was a more serious part of his brain.

"You sit down, I was just about to get started on breakfast," Avi lied, trying to make it look like he was still mentally stable enough to remember where he and Mitch kept their cooking equipment.

Mitch did as he was told. "Was the rest of the movie good? Sorry for falling asleep on you."

Movie? Avi's mind had gone blank.Your boyfriend made you watch a film with him last night, remember? said his brain. Oh, yes. "Didn't watch the rest of it," Avi said, trying to sound casual and failing miserably. "Didn't want to wake you up, you need the rest."

"You're sweet," Mitch smiled, voice full of sincerity the way it always was when he spoke to Avi, and the angel's heart broke.

"Listen, Mitchy, I need to talk to you about something," Avi sighed, hating himself.

"I know."

"What? How could you know, who's told you-"

"I meant I knew you had something to tell me," Mitch was trying not to sound scared, and Avi closed his eyes, willing to not have to do this. "You've been tense all morning. Also, you got out a cake tin instead of a frying pan five minutes ago and you still haven't noticed.

Avi looked down. There was, indeed, a cake tin on the counter where he was sure he had put a pan. He laughed in spite of himself. Then turned back to face Mitch with a grave expression on his face.

"Gabriel called me last night," he began, stating the obvious.

"Yeah, and? Gabriel calls you all the time." Mitch was trying so hard to act like nothing was wrong, and Avi hated it.

"He's had contact with another angel up in heaven," Avi proceeded slowly, trying to say everything the right way. He hadn't got around to explaining angel radio to Mitch yet.

"What's happened?" Mitch asked, looking like he very much did not want to know.

"It was a message for help," Avi finally said after several seconds of silence. "They're being invaded by demons."

"Demons," said Mitch. "Sorry, did I hear you correctly?"

"You did," said Avi with a heavy heart. "They think they can outnumber the amount of angels there and take over."

Mitch's mouth opened and closed several times. It was as if the ability to speak had just left his body. Avi didn't blame him. "So," he said eventually, his voice shaky. "What does that have to do with you?" He already knew the answer. He just really didn't want it to be true.

"I'm going to have to go and fight," Avi could not longer meet his boyfriend's eye. "Me and every other angel on earth."

"For how long?"

"I couldn't say."

Mitch buried his head in his hands and let out a sob. Avi didn't know what do to but stand and watch. Coward that he was, he wouldn't know how to handle it if Mitch pushed him away if he tried to hug him. Thankfully, Mitch was the one who stood up and buried his face in Avi's shoulder. Avi held him as tight as he could, trying to imprint the shape of Mitch onto his body. Without warning, Mitch captured the angel's lips in a passionate kiss, catching Avi by surprise. They broke apart breathless, their panting the only sound in the apartment.

"I'm sorry," Avi whispered, almost scared to say it.

"Don't talk to me about it," Mitch replied. "Not now. Let's just do this."

And they kissed again.

 

-

 

Dean stood in awe of his boyfriend. Cas was looking fiercer than he ever had, and finally Dean could admit how hot he found Castiel when he was ready to fight. Dean was worried, of course, but he had faith in his angel. It was himself he was worried about - he'd go insane if he didn't hear from Cas that he was okay every minute. He wasn't looking forward to having his boyfriend fight without him, but he had to keep reminding himself that Cas was more than okay.

They'd all died more than once, anyway.

Sam also seemed surprisingly cool. It was mostly from seeing Gabriel not trying to mess up everyone's lives for once. It was easy to think of the archangel as a prankster who didn't really deserve his title after all these years, but when he was ready for battle, the Winchesters could see Gabriel for how mighty he really was. It was rather unnerving.

Dean stepped closer to Cas, wrapping his arms around the angel's waist and looking him in the eye. "Now," he began, and a grin spread across Cas' face. "Obviously I know you're more than capable of kicking a few demons' asses, but I just want to remind you that I'd make an early entry to heaven any day if it meant saving you."

"There are plenty of hunters there already who I'm sure will offer their services," Cas shook his head at Dean, who very clearly had meant what he said about sacrificing himself. Both smiled in silence for a minute, thinking of Bobby.  
"I know we're not saying goodbye yet, but I love you," Dean said, loving how easily he could say that now. The two men leaned in closer for a kiss, ignoring the vomiting sounds coming from their respective brothers.

"You two are so childish," Dean complained, but there was a smile on his face. "Come on, Cas, let's make sure everything's in the car." Dean had made sure Cas and Gabe took all their best weaponry - the better equipped they were, the sooner they'd come home, Sam and Dean had figured.

Dean and Cas left, and Sam and Gabe were left alone again. Since last night, they had been frantic, and neither of them had stopped to remember what had almost happened between them. Neither of them had mentioned it to Dean or Castiel, and now they were alone, heads clear. Or as clear as they could be under the circumstances.

Their eyes met; without words they knew what each of them wanted. Sam walked forward slowly until his body was nearly touching Gabriel's. It felt like time had stopped, stopped for them. Gabriel put his hands on Sam's waist, and whispered the words that ruined the romantic moment. "I'm not coming to you, jolly green."

Sam let out a laugh before bending down to meet Gabriel, their lips crashing together, both smiling into the kiss. They broke apart laughing, only to blush at the raised eyebrows of Castiel and Dean, who had entered the room not long ago, accompanied by Mitch and Avriel. "Um, hey," Sam awkwardly greeted. Avi simply waved, his other arm tight around Mitch, who looked terrified. Sam felt sorry for him - he'd been dragged into this life, and didn't know the realities of it. He could stay with Sam and Dean for a few days after this. Hopefully they'd be able to comfort him in that time.

"Are we ready, then?" Dean asked.

"Wait, how are we going to fit six people in one car?" Gabe asked.

Dean grinned wickedly. "Well, short stack, it's your choice. Trunk or roof?"

 

-

 

Gabriel jumped off the roof of the car with a scowl on his face. "Remind me why that was necessary," he grumbled at Dean.

"You're the smallest, and the one who's most practiced in making people see things that aren't there," Dean smiled, voice full of fake sweetness. "Or in this case, making people not see things that are there."

"The only reason I haven't killed you, Dean Winchester, is because I'm in love with your brother." Dean simply chuckled in response.

The park was empty as usual. Avi and Mitch were thankful for it - they would look very weird if someone caught them making out next to a sandpit. "Now listen," Avi began, looking very serious. "I love you, and you're the only one for me. But time passes differently in heaven, and I don't know how long I will be. So I want you to forget me." Mitch's mouth opened to protest, and Avi shushed him. "You've been the best part of my life for six years, and I want you to be happy. So find someone else, make new music and please don't get hung up on me, because I'd never forgive myself. I'll always be watching over you."

"There's no one but you," Mitch cried.

"There will be," Avi said, reassuring himself as much as Mitch. "Boys fall in love with you everywhere you go."

Mitch let out a sad laugh, and wiped the tears from his face. "I love you, Avriel Benjamin Kaplan."

Avi smiled. "I love you too, Mitchell Coby Michael Grassi."

The Winchesters had said their goodbyes to Castiel and Gabriel, and it was with them now that Mitch stood, watching the three angels leave. Avi turned as Gabriel said the spell, gave Mitch a little wave, and disappeared. Mitch felt numb, hollow. He didn't know what to say. He turned to Sam and Dean, feeling quite pathetic crying next to these manlier-than-manly men who looked incredibly calm. "How are you two so chill?" He managed to ask.

"I guess we're used to it. It's been our whole lives." Sam said, with a reassuring smile. Mitch usually hated people feeling sorry for him, but right now he didn't care.

"Do you want to come stay with us for a few days? You look a bit shaken up." Sam asked, but Mitch shook his head.

"Somehow I think being around two guys who kill monsters for a living is the last thing that's going to clear my head," He explained. "I need to go back to my friends and my music."

Sam nodded understandingly. "Do you want a ride back?" He offered.

"That'd be great, thanks."

And with that, Mitch turned and walked away. Away from the park, and the sandpit, and the weird world he'd been introduced to.

Away from Avriel.

Mitch felt an odd sense of comfort as he sat down in the back of the impala. He felt warmth and safety. For one, glorious moment, it was like feeling Avi's presence again, as if the angel - his angel - was reaching out to him. He sighed. Avriel wasn't a liar and never had been - he was watching over Mitch. A feeling of love and protection washed over him, and he knew that no matter what went wrong, he'd always have the protection of his boyfriend.

His guardian angel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end! I really hope you’ve enjoyed coming on this little journey with me. Epilogue will be posted soon. Comments are always appreciated!


	16. Epilogue

Avirel didn't come back to Earth.

Mitch kept regular contact with Sam and Dean after Avi left. It never failed to blow him away how they managed to lead the life they did, but he was thankful for it. Castiel brought news of what was happening, but almost never spoke about Avi unless directly asked. Eventually the angel confessed that Avi didn't want Mitch to have news of him, and that he was convinced his human needed to distance himself from his world altogether if he was going to lead a safe and normal life.

Mitch took his advice. It was difficult, but he stopped talking to Sam and Dean. Avi was always right about what was best for him. Looking back, Mitch didn't know why it had took him so long to believe in what Avi was. He always seemed to know what to do.

Mitch missed him like hell. He moved in with Scott and Kirstie and spent many an unhealthy night drinking and crying, but slowly managed to pull himself out of his sadness. They found a new bass for Pentatonix, and continued making music. Mitch had to admit that he resented Matt slightly at first, but he grew to like him as the healing process continued. He threw himself into making music, and slowly began to have fun again.

He fell in love. Many, many times over. It was never quite the passion that he'd had for Avi, but being a hopeless romantic had its perks. And after several endeavours and experiments, there was one that was just about good enough. Mitch Grassi, married. How about that?

He never forgot Avi. One day, after several years of no communication, he received a text from Dean Winchester that simply stated they won. Mitch thought about Avi all that day, overjoyed that he was okay. He knew he probably still wouldn't see Avi, but strangely he felt okay with that. He'd got his memories and subtle reminders. There were traits in every guy he dated that matched Avi's personality, and even after many years of marriage, the angel still popped into his mind. This time, though, it caused a smile to appear on his face.

Mitch died in his sleep. He'd been dreaming about Avi that night, and was wondering if it was a sign of something. It was an odd sensation - like he was floating away. Heaven looked nothing like he'd imagined. Endless marble corridors in white, with dozens of wooden doors on each side inscribed with numbers. Each person had their own idea of heaven, the reaper explained. There was a door for every single person who died. That thought made Mitch feel quite dizzy. He, too, had a door. But there was someone else's he had to walk through first.

Opening a door and seeing a forest was both magical and funny in Mitch's eyes, and he couldn't help smiling at how predictable this was. It was beautifully tranquil, walking through the quiet green landscape. He walked slowly, savouring the moment. The moment he'd been waiting for since he was twenty-four years old. He was twenty-four again now, heaven appearing to have made him younger. Well, he supposed heaven would be based on the best time of his life. And he knew exactly when that was.

Avi stood in a clearing in the forest up ahead, his back to Mitch. Suddenly, Mitch couldn't help himself and broke into a run. He stopped upon reaching Avi, and tapped the angel twice on the shoulder. Mitch took a deep breath and the angel turned around. Simultaneous grins broke out on the faces of the two men, and for a second they could do nothing but look at the other one with overjoyed, almost disbelieving eyes. The next few moments were a blur; all Mitch could remember was that someone's lips were one someone else's, and hands were in hair and on waists, and heartbeats were accelerating to what felt like a mile a minute.

"You're here," Avi whispered into Mitch's ear once they had stopped kissing, his arms tightening around Mitch's body as if to make sure.

"You're with me again," Mitch whispered back, unable to contain the joy in his voice.

"Oh, baby," Avi replied, pressing a kiss to Mitch's neck. "I never left."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for coming on this journey with me. There will absolutely be more angel!Avi in the future, but I’ve really enjoyed writing this fic and I’m sad to let it go. Comments are always appreciated, and my tumblr is aspiringauthoranna


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